God called the people stiff-necked – which came from the comparison of their hardened hearts and stubbornness to that of the farmer’s heavy wooden yoke that they placed on the oxen in order to force them to pull the plow. Sometimes the oxen resisted and refused to work. The Israelites had stiffened their resolve and refused to respond in an appropriate attitude and action towards God’s repeated warnings and had instead allowed their sin nature to rule. Even today, many think that following Jesus is a difficult and weighty task, but Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” For when you are “yoked” to Jesus the load is easy to bear…for He pulls the plow for you.