Empty Promises

February 1

Exodus 7-8

Psalm 18:7-12

Proverbs 3:33-35

Matthew 21:18-27

Empty Promises

“Then Pharoah called for Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Entreat Yahweh that He may cause the frogs to depart from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.’ …So Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts and the fields… Then Pharoah saw that there was relief, and he hardened his heart with firmness and did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.” 

Exodus 8:8,13, 15 LSB

Over and over in the account of the ten plagues in Exodus we find Moses warning Pharoah what God was going to do if he did not let the children of Israel go into the wilderness to worship God.  Pharoah either didn’t believe him or he stubbornly didn’t care.  Then when the plague came on the land, Pharoah called Moses back in and told him that if he would ask God to remove the plague he would let the people go.  Repeatedly, Moses asked God to stop the plague, God did and Pharoah hardened his heart and refused to let the people go. We see this pattern 10 times.  Pharoah never had any intention of letting the people go, he was making empty promises.  He was saying whatever he needed to say in the moment to get relief from his current situation.  He was desperate and manipulating to stall and get his way.  We know this was all part of God’s plan.  He knew all along that Pharoah was not going to let the people go right away, but in His grace and mercy He gave him the opportunity to do the right thing. 

            In this account, we don’t want to relate to Pharoah.  We want to think of ourselves in Moses’ position.  But let’s be brutally honest.  How often do we find ourselves in difficult circumstances and we make promises, vow to change negative behaviors, or promise if God will help us out of this situation we will never let it happen again?  Do we follow through?  Or are we guilty of making empty promises?  Hopefully we don’t make those promises consciously knowing we aren’t going to fulfill them like Pharoah did but are we guilty of saying whatever we need to say to get ourselves out of the mess we are in? Do we conveniently forget about our promises when things are better? 

            And what about in our relationships with other people.  Do we make empty promises telling people what they want to hear to get our way and then later fail to follow through with what we said we would do?  As believers our word should be sacred.  People should be able to rely on what we tell them.  When we make a promise we should do everything in our power to carry through with that promise even if it is difficult and inconvenient.  Don’t make promises you cannot keep.