Today’s Thoughts – 3 February 2021
By T. S. Candee on February 3, 2021 in Second Timothy Thoughts
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
Are you an imitator of righteousness and godliness? In these verses for today’s thoughts, we see a reference to Jannes and Jambres. Although not mentioned in the Bible, they are, according to Jewish tradition, the magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron in Egypt during the plagues. (You can read their story here: Exodus 7-9)
What the magicians did was imitate each miracle that Moses displayed. When Moses threw down the staff that turned into a snake, the magicians did the same. When Moses turned the water into blood, the magicians turned water into blood.
What was really going on was an imitation. Moses was getting his power from Almighty God. The magicians were getting their power from the devil who is “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). Thus the imitations of miracles were not really miracles. These magicians were false teachers.
Eventually, they were not able to imitate the plagues God was bringing on the nation of Egypt. They were exposed when they couldn’t imitate the miracle of the lice or boils. Thus, their judgment was upon them and they were known unto all as frauds and counterfeits.
What Paul is trying to get across to Timothy in these verses is that the false teachers that plague our churches are only imitating their father the devil who is imitating God. It’s not real and there is no truth in it. They are “rebrobate” as Paul says which is to say “failing to pass the test, not enduring the trial” – they are frauds and counterfeits. But eventually, they will be exposed and judged for their false teaching and leading people who could have gotten saved.
For us today, the question is are you an imitator of Godly things? Do you just imitate righteousness and godliness, thus making you a fraud, a counterfeit, a rebrobate? Or are you the real deal? Do you have the truth in you? And if so, will you give it out to someone today?
