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Psalm 81:12
So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
10I am the LORD, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
12So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
Notice
God lets Israel follow its own counsel after the people refuse his voice, a sobering picture of getting the freedom a stubborn heart wants.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What troubles you about God letting people follow the stubbornness of their hearts?
Write on thisWhere might your own counsel need to be tested against what God has said?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 44:18They don’t know, neither do they consider, for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see, and their hearts, that they can’t understand.Both passages describe hearts closed to understanding or obedience, with God acting in response to human resistance.
Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;Both use walking in counsel to describe a way of life, with stubborn hearts and wicked counsel marking dangerous paths.
Jeremiah 7:24But they didn’t listen or turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.Both describe people walking in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their hearts after refusing to listen.
Romans 1:24Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves;Both describe God giving people over to what their hearts pursue, allowing their chosen course to continue.
Revelation 22:11He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who is …Both contain a grave statement about people continuing in a wrong course, though Revelation also addresses righteousness and holiness.
Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children”, says the LORD, “who take counsel, but not from me; and who make an alliance, but not with my Spirit, that they may add sin to …Both describe people pursuing counsel apart from God, linking their chosen direction with stubbornness or rebellion.
Acts 7:42But God turned away and gave them up to serve the army of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you offer to me slain animals and …Both describe God giving Israel over to a chosen course, with Acts naming their service to the army of the sky.
2 Thessalonians 2:9–11even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,The connection is limited: Thessalonians describes Satan’s lying wonders, while the psalm describes God letting people follow stubborn hearts.
Romans 1:26–27For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature.Both describe God giving people over, with the psalm naming stubborn counsel and Romans naming vile passions.
Acts 14:16who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.Both describe God allowing people to walk in their own ways, though Acts speaks of nations and the psalm of Israel.
Jeremiah 44:16–17“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the LORD’s name, we will not listen to you.Both passages describe refusal to listen to God’s word, expressed through Israel’s conduct in the psalm and direct speech in Jeremiah.
Psalm 106:43He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.Both connect rebellious or stubborn counsel with grave consequences for the people God had rescued.
Where this verse fits
Guilt and confession. temptation. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
This warning deserves care when you examine your own counsel. The God who let Israel go after its stubbornness also expressed his desire for his people to listen.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).