Isaiah 48

An Iron Neck

Thy neck is an iron sinew. Isaiah 48:4.

How many of you have had a donkey-ride? I expect most of you, at some time or other, have enjoyed a trot on the back of a donkey.

Perhaps it wasn't a trot, however. Quite likely it was a gallop, or else merely a “sit still,” for you never can tell what a donkey may take it into his head to do. As often as not, when it comes to turning round he refuses to budge. He sets back his long ears and he plants his legs very firmly, as if they were rooted to a stand like those of the wooden horses you see in toy-shops, and he stiffens his neck till it seems to be made of iron, and you may pull the bridle right or left as you like, but not an inch either way will he move. Not only does his neck seem to have an iron sinew like the neck in our text, but his whole provoking body seems to be made of iron sinews.

Now the Bible has a lot to say about people with iron necks. We call such people obstinate, but the Bible usually calls them stiff-necked. The Israelites, for instance, who were always wanting to do things in their own particular way, and not in the way God wished, are again and again spoken of as stiff-necked.

But I'm afraid donkeys and Israelites are not the only ones who have stiff necks. There are in the world today a good many little people, and about the same number of big people, who are splendid living examples of our text. Do you happen to know any? I do.

Now, there are two things I want to say to you about iron necks, and the second seems to contradict the first. The first is that an iron neck is a bad thing; and the second is that an iron neck is a good thing.

1. An iron neck is a bad thing. It is a bad thing to be obstinate when you should be yielding. Some boys and girls think they are showing their strength when they are stubborn. They persist in sticking to what they have said, or they go on doing what they have begun to do, although all the time they know perfectly well that they are in the wrong. That is not showing their strength. It is only proving their weakness and their cowardice. They go on doing the easy thing, which is to repeat what they have already said and done, and they avoid the difficult thing, which is to say a new thing and confess themselves mistaken The brave man never hesitates to own his mistake, but the weak man sticks to his point because he is afraid his pride will suffer if he gives in. He thinks he will look a fool. If he only knew it, he is proving himself a fool by refusing to yield.

The stubborn person is not only proving himself a fool, he is usually bringing down a punishment on himself. He is like a tree that will not bend before the gale. Because it won't bend it gets broken. He is a wise donkey that yields to coaxing. The coaxing is far preferable to the whipping that will follow if he does not obey.

I once knew a little girl who was very determined in her own small way, and who caused herself and her friends no end of trouble because she had an iron neck. On Sundays, when father was at home, she was allowed, as a special treat, to go to the dining-room for dinner. Now, one day the soup chanced to be lentil, and Miss Peggy did not like lentil soup, so she turned up her little round nose, and she laid down her silver spoon, and she shut her mouth tight so that everyone could see that she had no intention of supping that soup. Mother tried coaxing, but Peggy was deaf. At last father got angry and said sternly, “Peggy, sup your soup or leave the room.” But Peggy only buttoned up her mouth a little closer and sat tight. Then father said to mother, “Remove her, please.” Mother rose and came round to Peggy's chair, and she took hold of her and lifted her off her seat and what do you think happened? Why, everybody's soup and plate and tumbler and silver came along with Miss Peggy; for the naughty little monkey had gripped the tablecloth with both hands, and when she was taken away from table she took everything with her. I can assure you that the punishment she received after that escapade was very much worse than merely supping a soup she didn't like, or having to leave the room.

Boys and girls, father and mother can make nothing of you when you are obstinate; neither can God. So long as you are determined to stick to your own way, just so long can God do nothing for you. You must be ready to listen and obey, you must be willing to do His will, you must be ready to unstiffen your iron neck. If you are, then there is no limit to what God may do for and through you.

2. In the second place an iron neck is a good thing. It is a good thing sometimes. Which times? These times when it means setting your teeth and going on with a difficult task when it would be easier to give up; when it means standing up for the right, or refusing to do the wrong; when it means sticking to your word and performing what you have promised, cost what it may.

Do you know the story of King John the Second of France? He was taken captive by the Black Prince, and brought as a prisoner to England. Later he was allowed to go back to his native land, not because he was free, but because he thought he might manage to collect enough money to pay his ransom. It was a huge sum, and he tried hard, but he failed to get it. What do you think he did? Some people would have stayed on in France and would have risked being captured again. But King John scorned such meanness. He stuck to his word, and he said, “If good faith be quite forgotten by the rest of mankind, it ought to find a place with princes.” So he crossed back to England and became once more a prisoner.

That kind of stubbornness we don't call “stubbornness”; we call it “good faith.” The kind that carries on in spite of difficulties we call “perseverance.” And the kind that refuses to do wrong and stands up for the right, we call “moral courage.” These are good names, and they represent good virtues. Let us try to cultivate the good kinds of stubbornness instead of the kinds that are known as obstinacy, pigheadedness, and a stiff neck.