October 2023

When the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared unto the prophet Moses from the midst of the burning bush, the LORD instructed Moses to go down into Egypt and speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt commanding him to free the Hebrew slaves from their bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3). However, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not hearken unto the word of the LORD, and in turn he would not release the children of Israel from their servitude. But ultimately, due to Pharaoh’s pride and his unwillingness to obey the Lord’s commandments, the one true God of Israel would sorely punish the land of Egypt with all kinds of divers plagues, numbering ten in all. Yet even though Moses performed miracles by the power of the almighty God, the magicians in Pharaoh’s court were also able to perform similar signs through their own sorceries. But as we shall see the Egyptian magicians, even with all their enchantments, would prove powerless when positioned against the omnipotence of the God of the Hebrews. So, in the end it is forever evident that good does indeed always triumph over evil, and that darkness is continuously and will perpetually be extinguished by light. The attempt of this presentation will strive to compare and contrast the black magic of the Egyptian magicians, with the awesome holiness of God and the virtue of His righteous servants the prophets.

As previously mentioned, the Egyptian magicians were empowered by the dark arts enabling them to conjure up enough witchcraft to mimic some of the miracles which came forth from God through Moses. For example, when standing before Pharaoh Moses cast down his rod and it became a serpent, then the Egyptian magicians threw down their rods and they also became serpents. However, the serpent staff of Moses swallowed up the serpent staffs of the Egyptians, revealing the supremacy of Yahweh over the forces of darkness (Exodus 7:10-12). Also, when Moses turned the waters of the river Nile into blood, the Egyptian magicians managed to turn water into blood as well. Likewise, when Moses brought forth the plague of frogs, the Egyptian magicians possessed the means to do the same. But when Moses brought forth the plague of lice, the Egyptian magicians were powerless to duplicate this wonder. And they came to Pharaoh explaining to him how they could not perform this miracle. For after failing to match what Moses brought forth, the Egyptian magicians were forced to confess that this sign was the finger of God (Exodus 8:18-19).

Now the term “finger of God,” that the Egyptian magicians used to describe the supernatural power of the Lord God of Israel, which they themselves were unable to harness, is found in only two other places in all of the Old Testament and in just one verse within the New Testament. For example, when God gave Moses the ten commandments upon Mount Sinai it is recorded that the two tables of stone, upon which displayed the ten commandments, were written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18 & Deuteronomy 9:10). And in the New Testament Gospel according to St. Luke, do we read how Christ Himself uttered the term “finger of God” when disputing with the Pharisees over His divine authority to cast out devils (Luke 11:14-20). What is interesting to note here, is that even though the Egyptian magicians were pagan idol worshipers they still possessed enough honesty and integrity to acknowledge the supremacy of God. Whereas the Pharisees, who claimed to be children of God, were in fact hard hearted just like prideful Pharaoh. The hypocrisy of the Jews in this account should stand out as a warning to all Christians not to fall into the trap of vain glory, and must also remind believers to approach the Lord with a humble heart in order to give God the glory and not resist the Holy Spirit by turning away from Jesus with a hardened heart.

Now when it comes to the Egyptian magicians who stood against Moses, nowhere in the Old Testament are they identified by name. However, in the New Testament their names are indeed revealed. For in 2 Timothy 3:8, St. Paul records the names of two of the Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses as Jannes and Jambres. In addition to this New Testament identifier, an extra-Biblical source also provides the name of at least one of the Egyptian magicians who stood against Moses. And this ancient document is known as the Damascus Document. The Damascus Document is an ancient Hebrew text that is part of the Cairo Geniza, and which was also discovered among the various manuscripts which make up the vast library of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this account the two Egyptian magicians are referred to as Yohanah and his brother, for only one of them is identified by name. The fact that St. Paul knew their names as Jannes and Jambres may be due to the Apostle’s education at the feet of a leading authority in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel who was a Pharisee and a doctor of the law (Acts 22:3). The Greek name for the Egyptian magician Jannes is evidently a derivative of the Hebrew name Yohanah which is also referred to as, Yohannes. Though the name of the other brother is not provided in the Damascus Document, his name was later referred to as Jambres based on the Hebrew root mrh, meaning: “to agitate or rebel.”

In conclusion, from what has been presented in the book of Exodus it is clearly revealed that there are indeed dark forces in this world which wrestle against mankind. However, the devils can only influence us if we let our guard down. Through spiritual carelessness a person can become influenced by demonic powers, but most of all people usually become demon possessed through the practice of the dark arts of Satanism and black magic. For many people who are involved in witchcraft are not only able to cast spells upon others, but the voodoo practitioners themselves usually fall victim to the very spirits they conjure and in the end find themselves in the very bondage they directed towards their enemies. For while a warlock may think to himself that he is very powerful, and may even pride himself as a controller of spirits, yet unbeknownst to him the devils are in control of his very soul and are laughing and making fun of him the whole time. On the other hand, Jesus Christ now possesses all power and authority in heaven and upon earth (Matthew 28:18). And when it comes to the works of the devil versus the power of God, it is written, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). So, when placed against the almighty power of God the might of Satan is proven powerless before the LORD, with the forces of darkness eternally out-shined by Christ, Who is the light.

References:

Schiffman, L.H. & VanderKam, J.C. Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).