“They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.”
2 Timothy 3:6-9 NLT
As Paul speaks of false teachers, he brings up two famous false teachers in Jewish history. Interestingly, these were not Jewish teachers before the Israelites, but Egyptian magicians. The pair opposed Moses as he was telling the Egyptian Pharaoh to recognize God’s authority and to free the Israelite slaves. Their is an important motif at play in this example. The Israelites, like us, were enslaved to an oppressive presence. God’s wish was to free them, but neither the Pharaoh nor Israel believed his authority. It was only proven during a battle between the three prophets where Moses’ magic proved stronger. Even then, it took this, and ten plagues to finally release the slaves. And after that, they were pursued into Pharaoh’s demise. This endless pursuit is like the world and Satan’s pursuit of us. He will never let go, even into his own demise. The generation that came out of slavery ultimately died wishing they had never left it. Only their children benefitted from God’s mercy. As teachers, we must remember what we are up against. The difficulty in getting out of our own Egypt, the endless pursuit by the forces of evil, the ungrateful and unrepentant attitude of those who manage to escape it… this must all be considered. But it must also be considered that this led Israel, as a nation to it’s Promised land. This land became the cradle for the birth of our Messiah. In ministry, we must see the whole picture.
JOSH McGARY. COM 