“‘I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,’ says the Lord of Armies.
‘Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of Armies.”
Malachi 3:11-12
Last time we saw Yahweh challenge His people to bring Him the whole tithe and encourage them to test Him like metal – to see He has no impurities, no selfish motives. Today we see why.
“And I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer…”
Rebuke is gaar – corrupt, rebuke, reprove; to chide; and devourer is akal – ate, consume, feast.
Chide simply means to scold, like a child. And in the sentence before God promised to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out more than the returned exiles could store. One way He will do this is to chide any insect or animal that would feast on what is theirs.
Several translations say, “I will rebuke the locust…” for they were what often took farmer’s crops, devastating acres in a single day.
Makes me think of these verses in Joel:
“’I’ll make up for the years of the locust,
the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
I sent your way.
You’ll eat your fill of good food.
You’ll be full of praises to your God.'”
Joel 2:25-26a (MSG)
Don’t you love the idea of Him chiding locusts and bringing redemption from ruin?
“…so that he will not destroy your fruit of the ground…”
Here not destroy is shachath – act corruptly, depravity, devastate, raiders, ravage, spoil, wreaking destruction, mar, perish.
Fruit is peri – earnings, offspring, produce, reward; From parah; fruit (literally or figuratively). And of the ground is adamah – dust, earth, fields, ground, land; From adom – to be red; soil (from its general redness).
He will chide the destroyer so it will no longer devastate and spoil the produce of your fields.
For those of us who are not farmers, I appreciate that the word for fruit can be literal or figurative. I may not have an orchard, but my life can bear fruit if I abide in the Gardener.
“Nor shall the vine in the field fail to bear fruit for you…”
Vine is gephen – from an unused root meaning to bend; a vine (as twining), especially the grape.
And the root for fail to bear fruit is shakol – to be bereaved; abort, bereaved of my children, childless miscarried, unfruitful, barren, deprive; properly, to miscarry, suffer abortion.
Whew, these are definitions loaded with emotion, yes? If you talk with someone dealing with miscarriage or infertility, it is not an objective topic. Daily, hourly, thoughts are dedicated to the sorrow. Granted, in this context Yahweh is referring to the grapevine being barren. But I believe when we test Him to see He is perfectly pure in motive, it most pointedly affects the areas most tender to us.
And isn’t that where we most need Him to show Himself trustworthy? The returned exiles were continuing to withhold from God and the result was reflected in their crops and vines and herds. And the places we have the most difficult time surrendering and trusting God are likely where He will continue to nudge us to test His character.
I think we all know this side of heaven that Him opening the floodgates when we obey does not always mean every sorrow is taken away and our prayers are answered how we’d like. But can’t many of us testify that He comes through? That He becomes enough? The floodgates opening used our sorrow and disappointment for something greater?
It may never mean we stop asking for our miracle. But it can always mean fruit for His glory and our good. Even with tears.
And now for a peek into His heart:
“And all nations will call you blessed…”
Here all nations is kol goy – every nation, Gentiles, people. And blessed is ashar – to go straight, go on, advance; bless, direct, guide, happy, lead, relieve; to be straight (used in the widest sense, especially to be level, right, happy); figuratively, to go forward, be honest, proper.
Every people who sees how I answer will call you happy, guided, on level ground.
And why?
“For you will be a delightful land…”
We have seen delightful before; It’s chephets – delight, pleasure, care, desirable things, matter, precious, sight. And land is erets – earth, country, land, region, territories, wild; common, nations, way; From an unused root probably meaning to be firm.
You may notice this is a different word than above for ground, adamah. This isn’t just your field or my vineyard; this is our common land as God’s people. That is what will be seen as desirable, precious, and cared for by all watching. Our country will be recognized as desirable compared to what the world offers.
And is all that just so we can brag about our lives on firm ground? Or so He will only be gracious to one nation and not others? Of course not. It never has been.
It is so His Kingdom looks inviting and others seek it.
The ultimate goal in tithing is the goodness of God reaching all nations.