“Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was” (2 Timothy 3:8-9).
The philosopher George Santayana was famously quoted as saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (1) In a similar manner, the false teachers of first-century Ephesus had unwittingly duplicated a mistake that others also made centuries earlier.
You see, the Old Testament book of Exodus relates the account of Moses and his brother Aaron as they approached Pharaoh, the king of Egypt with a request. Exodus 5:1-2 details that request and Pharaoh’s response…
“…Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'” But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go'” (Exodus 5:1-2 ESV).
God’s response to Pharaoh followed shortly thereafter…
“Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘When Pharaoh says to you, “‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,'” then you shall say to Aaron, “‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs” (Exodus 7:8-12 ESV).
Although they are not mentioned by name in the Old Testament, Jannes and Jambres are traditionally identified as the Egyptian sorcerers who opposed Moses and Aaron as detailed within this passage. Thus, the connection between Exodus chapter seven and 2 Timothy 3:8-9 is this: just as Jannes and Jambres could not stand against the work of God through Moses and Aaron, neither could the false teachers of Ephesus stand against the truth.
One commentator provides us with a modern-day application of this centuries-old passage with a century-old observation: “Wait for the inevitable unfoldings of God’s purpose. Time will show what is true and what is false. In the meantime, examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith.” (2)
(1) George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense: The Life of Reason. 1905 pg. 284
(2) Meyer, Frederick Brotherton. “Commentary on 2 Timothy 3”. “F. B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/fbm/2-timothy-3.html. 1914.