Scripture to Read: 2 Timothy 3:8-9
As we end this week in 2 Timothy 3:1-9, our focus today is on verses 8-9. Through Paul, God shares with Timothy and us that the people described in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 will be just like Jannes and Jambres, the magicians who opposed Moses in Egypt (Exodus 7:11-12; Exodus 7:22; Exodus 8:7; Exodus 8:18; Exodus 9:11). Interestingly, God gave Paul the names of Jannes and Jambres because they are never named any other place in God’s Word. In reading the accounts in the book of Exodus, we see that Jannes and Jambres could do miracles similar to the ones God was performing through Moses. Demons were using Jannes and Jambres, so the demonic powers allowed them to perform some of the same miracles as God. The point that God makes is that just as Jannes and Jambres opposed God, in the last days people will also resist God’s Truth and accept the lies of men (Romans 1:18-23). But God is all-powerful and eventually, the powers of darkness could no longer do what only God could do. That is why God says in 2 Timothy 3:9, “But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.” Satan’s power is limited and just as Jannes and Jambres’ power through the spiritual forces of darkness had limits, it will also be in the last days because God’s power is always in control.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about His power in comparison to the spiritual powers of darkness?
2. How are you relying on God’s power, and not your own, to overcome the spiritual forces of darkness?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!