
Promises, Promises!
Promises, Promises! November 24, 2024
Beginning at the second plague (frogs) Pharaoh promised repeatedly, “I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord” (Exodus 8:8, see also 8:28 & 9:28). And every time, “when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart” and went back on his promise (8:15, see also 8:32 & 9:35). The king considered himself to be, if not a god at the present time, at a god in the making. He had no respect for the God of his Hebrew slaves and evidently felt no compulsion to be honest. Like a true politician, he said whatever he needed to say at the moment of crisis. But when the pressure was off, his promise wasn’t worth the time it took to make it.
Let us rejoice while praising our God because He consistently keeps His promises! “I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father” (Genesis 26:3). “I am the Lord. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass…I will say the word and will perform it” (Ezekiel 12:25).
The God of truth has always required His people to be truthful like He is. David, by inspiration, commended the person “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalms 15:4). Yes, keeping our promises can be painful! But Jesus Himself said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no'” (Matthew 5:37). Mean what you say! In most circumstances you shouldn’t even need to swear an oath.
When Pharaoh broke his promises, he was simply taking a cue from his master, Satan. Jesus said that the devil “is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). When people of the world lie, we shouldn’t be surprised. But let us carefully keep our word, for “all liars shall their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
By Joe Slater
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Does “Church” Feel Routine?
If you don’t want “church” to feel routine this weekend,
then approach it differently:
1. Pray before you leave home.
2. Sing in the car on the way.
3. Arrive early at the church building
4. Invite someone to attend with you.
5. Bring your Bible.
6. Take sermon notes
7. Talk to people.
8. Sing loudly.
9. Serve.
10. Live out the sermon