Thematic Bible: Self-will


Thematic Bible



I thought: The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven't sought the Lord's favor. So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering." Samuel said to Saul, "You have been foolish. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel,

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear. Verse ConceptsDeafnessWilful IgnoranceRebellion Against God, Shown InSpiritual DeafnessShouldersSelf WillRefusing To HearObstinate Individuals

The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Verse ConceptsTheocracySelf Will

“As for the word you spoke to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! Verse ConceptsStubbornnessSelf Will

They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by His law.
Verse ConceptsContemptDisobedience, To GodProvokingSelf WillBreaking The CovenantBreaking God's Law

They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.
Verse ConceptsGod, Compassion OfAngerAggressionAnger Of God, DescriptionListeningRestraintSin, And God's CharacterLoving Kindness Of GodSelf WillGod Not ForsakingMaking SlavesA Forgiving GodSpeed Of God's AngerAnger And Forgiveness

Who gave Jacob to the robber,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord?
Have we not sinned against Him?
They were not willing to walk in His ways,
and they would not listen to His instruction.
Verse ConceptsSelf Will

Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward. Verse ConceptsStubbornnessPathways Of SinSelf WillBackwardsThe Hearts Incination To EvilimaginationattentionFalling Away From God

They keep on saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said: You will have peace.’ They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’” Verse ConceptsFalse ConfidenceFalse ProphetsSelf WillNo Peaceimagination

Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.
They made their faces harder than rock,
and they refused to return.
Verse ConceptsIndifferenceMineralsPrayerlessnessRepentance, Importance OfSensitivityStubbornness, Consequences OfAfflictions Of The WickedAdmonition, RecievingObstinacy Against GodSelf WillGod, All knowing


You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and would not accept discipline. Truth has perished—it has disappeared from their mouths. Verse ConceptsAdmonition, RecievingSelf WillThose Against TruthAgainst The Truth

The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Verse ConceptsNecksStubbornnessStiffnecked PeopleSelf WillGod Seeing The Wicked

Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. Verse ConceptsUnderstandingObstinacy Against GodStiffnecked PeopleNecksSelf Will

The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, they are a stiff-necked people. Verse ConceptsGod Seeing The Wicked

I have heard Ephraim moaning,
“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf.
Restore me, and I will return,
for you, Lord, are my God.
Verse ConceptsConversion, nature ofObstinacy Against GodCalvesChastisementRevival, CorporateAfflictions, Prayer DuringAfflictions, Benefits OfSelf WillReinstating PeopleDisciplineYou Are Our God

Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
Verse ConceptsMulesBridlesHorsesRestraintRopesStubbornnessDivine RestraintsSelf WillBinding As Animals

Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Verse ConceptsFaithfulness, To GodGenerationsAttitudes Of StubbornnessLoyaltyRebellion, Of IsraelSelf WillNot Like PeopleBeing Differentrebellionfatherhoodapostasy

For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! Verse ConceptsRebellion, Of IsraelNecksSelf WillObstinate IndividualsKnowing FactsRebellion against Godrebellion


She is loud and defiant;
her feet do not stay at home.
Verse ConceptsSelf WillWanderersFeet In ActionA Good Womanrebellion


Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid. Verse Conceptsevil, warnings againstBanishmentPunishment, Legal Aspects OfSelf WillChildren, UngratefulFear Is DueInstructions About Stoning

Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.’”
Verse ConceptsNecksSelf WillBraggingHorns WeakenedDo Not Be Proudarrogance

Don’t become obstinate now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance to Yahweh, and come to His sanctuary that He has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that He may turn His burning anger away from you, Verse ConceptsSanctuaryStiffnecked People

Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession.” Verse ConceptsPrayer, For OthersStiffnecked PeopleNecksSelf WillGod Goes With YouGod Forgive!

Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people’s stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin. Verse ConceptsGod Of The FathersServanthood, In Life Of BelieversSelf Will

So why didn't you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord's sight?" "But I did obey the Lord!" Saul answered. "I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder-the best of what was set apart for destruction-to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal." read more.
Then Samuel said: Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention [is better] than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.

"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn't listen to them even after they discipline him, his father and mother must take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested Me, tried [ Me ], and saw My works read more.
for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with this generation and said, "They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways." So I swore in My anger, "They will not enter My rest." Watch out, brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.

You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
Verse ConceptsSin, Nature OfStiffnecked PeopleLife Through Keeping The LawWorks Of The LawProud People

But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
Verse ConceptsForgetting GodNecksPride, Results OfSelf JustificationStubbornnessUnbelief, As Response To GodSelf WillProud PeopleBreaking God's Law

But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God. Verse Conceptsdoubt, results ofImpenitence, Warnings AgainstListeningStubbornnessUnbelief, Results Of Being GuiltyNecksDoubting GodUnbelief Toward God

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate and hardened his heart against returning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Verse ConceptsRebellion, Against Human AuthorityStiffnecked People


He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate and hardened his heart against returning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Verse ConceptsRebellion, Against Human AuthorityStiffnecked People

But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to the Valley of Megiddo to fight.

Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward. Verse ConceptsStubbornnessPathways Of SinSelf WillBackwardsThe Hearts Incination To EvilimaginationattentionFalling Away From God

Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward. Verse ConceptsStubbornnessPathways Of SinSelf WillBackwardsThe Hearts Incination To EvilimaginationattentionFalling Away From God

Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king’s presence to register the troops of Israel. Verse ConceptsStubbornnessSelf WillCensus



But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
Verse ConceptsForgetting GodNecksPride, Results OfSelf JustificationStubbornnessUnbelief, As Response To GodSelf WillProud PeopleBreaking God's Law


Since I called out and you refused,
extended my hand and no one paid attention,
Verse ConceptsThe Call Of GodSelf WillStretching OutRejectionListening To Godconsequencesanswersattention

May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
Verse ConceptsIrritationParticipation, In SinAnger Of Man, CauseSelf WillEvil AssociationsObstinate IndividualsReady To KillSports

Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways. Verse ConceptsHabitsSin, Nature OfSelf WillBowing To False GodsDifferent GodsDeath Of Office HoldersGod's People Sinning

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.