WHO IS THE DEVOURER IN MALACHI 3:11?

-
The phrase "rebuke the devourer" is found in the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. 

(Malachi 3:11 KJV) And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

In this verse Malachi records a wonderful promise of God to the nation of Israel. The Hebrew word translated “devourer” means “eater” and refers to the locust or caterpillar or any such creature that devours crops. The NIV translates Malachi 3:11 as “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops.” The “devourer” could also refer to plant diseases—really, anything that would destroy Israel’s crops: the NLT says, “Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.” Swarms of locusts were common in the Middle East in those days and could destroy virtually all the produce of an entire country. The devastation brought by locusts could be horrific. When God said He would “rebuke the devourer,” He promised that He would protect Israel from such disasters.

Like all promises under the Mosaic Law, the promise of God to rebuke the devourer was conditional. If the Israelites would cease robbing God and give their whole tithe (Malachi 3:9–10), as required by the Law (Leviticus 27:30), then God would keep the locusts away from them and bless them with such abundance of healthy crops that theirs would be known as a “delightful land” (Malachi 3:12).

Chapter 1 of Malachi is an indictment against Israel for despising and dishonoring God by offering impure sacrifices (Malachi 1:6–14). In Chapter 2, God indicts the priests for corrupting the Law (Malachi 2:8), for dealing unfairly with the people (Malachi 2:9–11), and for divorcing their wives (Malachi 2:14–16). After rebuking them for their sin, God goes on to predict the coming of their Messiah who will purify them so that their offerings are acceptable to Him (Malachi 3:1–4).

It is in this context that God makes the promise to rebuke the devourer on behalf of the people of Israel. If they would repent and return to Him, He would pour out blessings upon them. If they would bring into the storehouse the grain offerings that are rightly His, He would open the heavens and pour out blessings upon them for their obedience. Their crops would produce so abundantly that there would scarcely be room enough to store them (Malachi 3:10).

Some have tried to equate God’s rebuking of the devourer with Christians’ rebuking of the devil. But this is a misinterpretation and takes the verse out of context. The “devourer” is not Satan; it is the locust. The church is not Israel; we are not under the Old Testament Law; we are not promised material blessings; and tithing is not required of us. Of course, we do have a spiritual enemy. Satan prowls around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), but this word, "devourer" in Malachi 3:11 was not  referring to Satan.

Source: www.GotQuestions.org


If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page @BibleWatch, follow us on Twitter @bible_watch and click the Subscribe button above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT THE WOMAN IS A HELP MEET?

-
In Genesis chapter 2:18 God said he will make for Adam a help meet for him. What does that statement mean? (Genesis 2:18 KJV) And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Meet in this context is an adjective that means "suitable". What that scripture is saying is that God created a "help" for Adam and this helper was "meet" ( suitable, fit, proper ) for Him.
Read more

JACOB DID NOT WAIT FOR 7 OR 14 YEARS BEFORE LEAH/ RACHEL WERE GIVEN TO HIM. HE TOOK BOTH WIVES IMMEDIATELY.

-
Many Christians thought that Jacob worked seven years for Laban, realized that Laban deceived him to marry Leah, and then worked seven more years before finally getting married to Rachel. However the bible shows that he took both Leah and Rachel immediately before he began serving Laban. For clarity, I advise you to read this Jacob's story in other translations of the Bible aside King James Version (KJV). Meanwhile lets look at look at some of the facts from the Bible: (Genesis 29:21 KJV) And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. Please note that the 7 years of service required of Jacob were the total dowry and not the customary waiting period before a wife was given to the groom. In other words, Jacob took Leah after the customary waiting period which was a couple of days just like we read in vs 21. Notice that he said, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled" implying a certain number of d
Read more

“IT IS A SIN TO PAY OR RECEIVE TITHES” — PASTOR CHRIS OJIGBANI

-
For hundreds of years, Christians incur the wrath of God by paying and receiving tithe. Though the doctrine of tithe is popular and generally accepted in Christianity, it’s a wrong doctrine. It’s actually a sin to pay tithe and it’s equally a sin to receive tithe in Christianity. The doctrine is generally accepted because of the misinterpretation of some tithe related scriptures. A misinterpretation of a scripture can lead many generations astray. In like manner, the misinterpretation of tithe related scriptures has led many Christian generations astray. Before explaining the true meaning of the scriptures, it’s important I first explain what tithe means. What is tithe? Tithe as an English word means one tenth or 10 percent. Tithe in the scripture means a mandatory 10 percent of one’s increase (Deuteronomy 14:22). How often did Israelites give Tithe? The tithe system had a seven-year cycle. The Israelites were mandated to give tithe on the first year, second year,
Read more

WHY JOB SUFFERED

-
Image
Often, when I speak on healing and prosperity, people will ask me about Job. They'll question me, "If healing and prosperity belongs to us, why did Job suffer sickness and poverty?" That is a good question, and it deserves to be answered. First of all, the book of Job was written as a play. Nevertheless, this is not a work of fiction. Job really existed. Ezekiel 14:14 lists Job as a real righteous man who once lived long ago. In this play called Job, we find eight characters: God, Satan, Job, Job's wife, Job's three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) and finally a young man named Elihu. The play begins with the narrator telling the story about Job and describing him as the greatest man among all the people of the East. His integrity was world-renowned. He was so upright in the way he lived that even God bragged on Job. He told Satan to take note of Job's outstanding life.   Job 1:8  Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my ser
Read more

JESUS CALLED HIMSELF THE "SON OF MAN". WHY CALL HIM THE "SON OF GOD"?

-
Image
To begin, a word study of the term “ son of…” indicates that it can mean “ of the order of ” in certain contexts. The phrase is often used in this way in the Old Testament. For example, “sons of the prophets” meant “of the order of prophets” (1 Kings 20:35). “Sons of the singers” meant “of the order of singers” (Nehemiah 12:28 KJV). In the Old Testament, the bible used the phrase, " Son of Man" to refer to humanity (i.e. "of the order of humans") . In the Gospels, Jesus refers to Himself as “the Son of Man” (in third person) 77 times. The Son of Man is a title that he used exclusively in the New Testament. His disciples never addressed Him as such. Jesus used it to emphasize His humanity.  It is also a designation of the Messiah . This goes back to the Book of Daniel where the Son of Man would inherit the everlasting kingdom of God. (Daniel 7:13-14) : I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
Read more

THE MEANING OF "THE KINGDOM OF GOD" SUFFERETH VIOLENCE"

-
Image
Jesus said in Matthew 11:12,  "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." It simply means that from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of God is as though being taken by storm by those pressing to obtain a blessing and those who make forceful [ violent ] attempts, take the blessings. If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page  @BibleWatch , follow us on Twitter  @bible_watch  and click to the  Subscribe button  above.
Read more

EVIDENCES FROM THE BIBLE SHOW THAT GOD NEVER PLANNED THAT ANYONE WOULD GO TO HEAVEN

-
Image
The idea of going to heaven is very popular, we see it in movies, hear about it in songs, read about it in books, and learn about it from the pulpit, but what does the Bible say about it? The "going to Heaven" concept is so ingrained in modern Christianity that many Scriptures are wrongly used in support of this pre-conceived notion. The Scriptures are plain that the earth, not Heaven, is the abode of the Believer/Righteous and there are several Scriptures to support this belief.   In  John 3:13  Jesus said, “ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven .” Did Jesus forget Elijah? No, He did not. He equally stated in John 8:21 that where He was going (Heaven), the disciples could not come .  Also, Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” I know you are probably already thinking of common questions like, “What about Elijah, or the thief on the cross, or Lazarus in Abraham’s
Read more

IS "RAPTURE" BIBLICAL?

-
Image
By Lex Meyer The “Rapture” theory is one of the most recent doctrines to have developed in modern Christianity. It was developed around the nineteenth century and has become exceedingly popular in the past 50 years. There are a number of variations about the rapture, such as pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation, but the general idea is that all Christians will be taken up to heaven at some point during the last days. It is sometimes referred to as the “secret rapture” because they believe it will come suddenly and without warning. They teach that the rapture could happen at any moment, so we must always be ready because no one knows the day or the hour. Many of the recent books and movies about the rapture convey an almost comical situation in which piles of clothes are left on chairs where people once sat, vehicles are suddenly abandoned while driving down the road, and everyone on earth (who are “Left Behind”) are overcome with confusion and
Read more

IS REINCARNATION BIBLICAL? SHOULD CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION?

-
Image
What is reincarnation? Is reincarnation a Christian belief? Does the Bible teach reincarnation? Are there evidences in the Bible to support reincarnation? Several people (including many Christians) believe in reincarnation. However, the Bible does not teach reincarnation, rather it teaches resurrection from the dead. What is the difference? In reincarnation (or transmigration), the body dies and returns (i.e comes back to life again) in a different body to live on earth again. Depending on your deeds in the previous life or lives, the new body is entirely different from that of the previous life. For instance, a man could get reincarnated as a woman or an animal or a stone. On the other hand, in resurrection of the dead, the body that dies is the exact body that is raised. For the resurrection that will occur in the last day, the body is made new in the sense that it is perfected and no longer subject to frailty and death, but it is still the same body. In reincarnation, the previous m
Read more

MOSES WAS NOT A JEW

-
Here's the thing. All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews (Exodus 2:1-10).  Moses was an Israelite, but he was born of the tribe of Levi, not of Judah.  The original name for the Israelites was Hebrews. The Word comes from the word "eyver" which refers to "the other side" referring to the fact that Abraham came from the other side of the Euphrates. The word "Jew" is derived from the Name Judah. Today, the word "Jew" is used to refer to all of the physical and spiritual descendants of Jacob and the word "Judaism" is used to refer to their beliefs. Technically, this usage is inaccurate.
Read more