9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 8:9-15

Pharaoh wasn’t true to his word and continued to enslave the Hebrews. It obviously set the stage for what was to come next.

Scripture tells us repeatedly not to promise something only to renege on it. It just makes you unreliable, untrustworthy, and dishonest. (Matthew 5:37, Numbers 30:2, Ecclesiastes 5:5, Proverbs 20:25, James 5:12)

Moses and Aaron believe him, but I doubt they will ever again. Pharaoh was a typical politician, promising something to take the immediate pressure off but never really intending to keep that promise.

Be careful even of the little promises you make to those around you. People rely on your words more than you think.