Lesson 6: “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.”

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Text Under Consideration: Exodus 32; Numbers 13-14; Judges 2; 1Samuel 8

Scriptural & Historical Context:

Recall that when the Lord brought Israel to Mt. Sinai He promised that they would be His “treasured possession among all peoples”, but only if they “obey my voice and keep my covenant” (Exodus 19.5). Tragically, Israel rarely demonstrated a willingness to follow the voice of their God and thus they consistently broke His covenant. This lesson will examine four occasions when Israel refused to follow their God, spanning from immediately following the Exodus in 1440 B.C. until when Israel rejected the Lord in favor of a king in ~1000 B.C.

Key Verses & Events:

• Israel breaks the covenant by worshipping a golden calf (Exodus 32, ~1440 B.C.).
• Israel refuses to take the land of Canaan and are sentenced to wander in the wilderness until that generation perished (Numbers 13-14, ~1440-1400 B.C.).
• Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel enters Canaan and quickly defeats the major armies in the land (Joshua, 1400 B.C.).
• After the death of Joshua, Israel forsakes the Lord for the idols of Canaan. A series of military defeats follows, each time the Lord using a Judge to deliver his people (Judges – 1Samuel 7, 1375 – 1000 B.C.).
• Israel requests for a king to rule over them so they can be like the other nations (1Samuel 8, ~1000 B.C.).

The Story:

1. Israel quickly broke the covenant they swore to keep. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days, the impatient Israelites demanded Aaron make them a golden calf — violating God’s command against carved images regardless of whether they intended it as a representation of the Lord Himself.
2. Their sin went deeper than rule–breaking. By wanting gods “who shall go before us” on their own terms, Israel was attempting to redefine their relationship with God — replacing submission to His leadership with self-determined religion.
3. Moses interceded and God relented, but Israel didn’t learn. One year later, on the border of the Promised Land, the people refused to trust God’s promise and wanted to return to Egypt — despite the testimony of Joshua and Caleb that the Lord would give them victory.
4. Unbelief had consequences. An entire generation was condemned to die in the wilderness, a direct fulfillment of God’s judgment on those who refused to trust Him despite witnessing His signs and wonders.
5. A new generation entered and took the land — by God’s faithfulness, not their own merit. Joshua led Israel to conquer Canaan, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6. The cycle of unfaithfulness continued in the period of the Judges. The next generation did not know the Lord — partly because Israel failed to pass on what God had done — and repeatedly turned to other gods over a span of 300–400 years.
7. Israel eventually rejected God as king. Demanding a human king “like all the nations,” Israel once again forgot that the Lord Himself was their protector and ruler — a rejection God took personally.
8. God remained faithful to His covenants throughout. He did not destroy Israel even when they deserved it, because doing so would have broken His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His faithfulness was unconditional even when theirs was not.
9. The root problem was always a lack of faith. Israel’s repeated failures — the golden calf, the wilderness rebellion, the judges cycle, the demand for a king — all traced back to their unwillingness to trust and believe God despite overwhelming evidence of His power and love.
10. The story points forward to a greater King. Israel’s rejection of God’s rule didn’t end His reign. The gospel reveals that a descendant of David would be the eternal Son of God, whose kingdom never ends — the ultimate fulfillment of what Israel’s history was always pointing toward.

It didn’t take long for Israel to break the covenant they swore to keep (cf. Exodus 24.7-8). Following the covenant ratification ceremony, Moses ascended Mt. Sinai where he remained for 40 days (Exodus 24.18). But Israel, a people who had recently toiled in slavery, were too impatient to wait for guidance from the Lord. Thus, they commanded Aaron to “make us gods who shall go before us.” (Exodus 32.1) There is some question if Israel broke the first commandment that they “shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20.3) because the term for God, Elohim, is a plural noun. Thus, their request to Aaron was that he make Elohim, a representation of God “who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32.4). Regardless of intent, they broke the covenant because God had commanded that they “not make for yourself a carved image… you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20.4-5). Israel’s treachery went deeper than violating a commandment, for they were trying to redefine their relationship with the Lord. They wanted to make gods “who shall go before us”, but it was Israel who would determine where these gods would go. By refusing to submit to God’s leadership they proved themselves to be “a stiff-necked people” (Exodus 32.9) a people more than willing to break God’s covenant, signified by Moses smashing the tablets on the mountain (Exodus 32.15-19).

The Lord threatened to destroy the people, but relented after Moses interceded for the people. Had they learned a lesson? Tragically, they had not. Fast forward one year and Israel was now on the border of the Promised Land. Spies were sent into the land in order to see the goodness of the land and to see what kind of people dwelt there (Numbers 13.17-20). They spies returned with glowing reports of the land’s goodness, but also declared that they could not take the land because “the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large… we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are.” (Numbers 13.28,31). Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb, reported that they could take the land… because the Lord was with them (Numbers 14.8-9). However, the people refused to place their trust in the Lord and rather determined that they would go back to Egypt (Numbers 14.3-4). The punishment for Israel’s lack of faith? An entire generation would perish in the wilderness (Numbers 14.26-35).

Fast forward 40 years and the Lord’s word was fulfilled: the generation who refused to enter the land had perished in the wilderness, but a new generation would take the land under the leadership of Joshua. The book of Joshua records how this new generation entered the land and quickly defeated the armies of the land; “Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there.” (Joshua 21.43). Surely Israel would remain true to their God, having witnessed the faithfulness of the Lord. Alas, after the death of Joshua and his generation “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2.10) This statement is tragic because the Lord had commanded Israel to both teach their descendants His laws (Deuteronomy 6.6-9) and what He had done for His people (Deuteronomy 6.10-15; cf. Joshua 4.1-7). The book of Judges records how over the next few hundred years the people consistently turned to other gods and suffered the consequences of their rebellion. But the Lord did not completely abandon His people, He raised up judges who would deliver the people, but the people would continue to abandon their God (Judges 2.16-17). 

The time of the Judges lasted between 300-400 years. During the time of the last Judge, Samuel, the people of Israel made this request: “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1Samuel 8.5). While Samuel saw this as a rejection of him, the Lord rightly stated that “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1Samuel 8.7). Interestingly, the people declared that they wished for a king who would “go out before us and fight our battles” (1Samuel 8.20). They had forgotten that it was the Lord who fought for His people (Exodus 19.4; Deuteronomy 28.7; Joshua 23.10). The people remained stiff-necked, rejecting their God at every turn.

Before we conclude, note a few takeaways from these events in Israel’s history. First, it is important to note that God is always faithful to His covenants. Even when Israel violated their covenant, the Lord kept the promise He had made to their forefathers; He did not destroy Israel because that would have broken the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Exodus 32.13-14). He even gave Israel the promised Land, not because they deserved it, but because of His promise (Joshua 21.43). Second, if God proved Himself to be faithful, why did Israel constantly break His covenant? Because they lacked faith! “How long will this people despise Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” (Numbers 14.11) Finally, Israel may have rejected God’s rule (1Samuel 8.5), but their rejection didn’t change the fact that God ruled over them… and over all people! The gospel story reveals how a descendant of David, the third king of Israel, would in fact be the Son of God and that His reign is forever (2Samuel 7.12-13; Psalm 2)!

For Further Consideration:

1. What do we learn about God’s patience in these episodes from Israel’s history? Are there limits to His patience? Why is He so patient (see 2Peter 3.9). 
2. Do you agree with the following statement: “all disobedience results from a lack of faith”? Why or why not?