“Real hardness of heart, in the Bible use of the phrase, means stubbornness of will…A hardened heart is useless as a hardened lump of clay or a hardened loaf of bread….When people become so stubbornly set in their ways, they find it impossible to turn to God. This does not happen all at once; it is the result of a series of choices…We are warned not to harden our hearts, but to reject the glamor of sin or anything else that would lead us away from God.” (Charles Finney, Life Application Study Bible, Psalms 95:8,11)
When we declare ourselves to be disciples of Christ, we claim that we want Him to cure our spiritual and moral disease. Yet in truth we want Him to relieve the symptoms, such as misery, discontent, despair, and so on. Jesus, by contrast, knows that He cannot relieve these symptoms unless He overcomes their deep, inner cause. And this is where the problems arise. While we would like to be rid of the symptoms, we stubbornly resist the efforts of Jesus to penetrate our souls. We do not want our deep-set feelings and attitudes to be changed. But only when we truly open our souls to the transforming grace of God will the symptoms of spiritual disease begin to disappear.” (St. John Chrysostom)
“God's gracious promise in the Gospel of Christ either saves people or makes them hard and stubborn. Yet this hardness and stubbornness is of their own free will, for He never forces anyone to respond in faith. But He does make them the offer of peace.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Deuteronomy 2:7)
“The issue of stubborn hearts, however (Deuteronomy 10:16), is as much our problem as it was for ancient Israel. Let us ask God to expel from us “every evil and impure spirit” that would make its lair within us (baptismal prayer).” (Dynamis 10/14/2019)
"Jesus reveals God. Jesus comes to reveal the Father’s Love for us. He embraces everything human. He takes upon Himself our weakness, our stubbornness, our willfulness, our brokenness, our sinfulness…Stubbornness and self-love give way to beauty in one who has been broken by God.” (Father John Zeyack, Watchman Nee)