He Rebukes the Devourer For Our Sake

When God addressed the lack of giving in the Old Testament under Malachi 3:8-9, He equated it to robbing God; 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” Recall that tithing was required under the Law of Moses. The Levites were the only tribe that was not given a territorial inheritance by God. Their inheritance was God Himself, and they were supported through the tithes and offerings made by the children of Israel. Not to tithe was to deny God the resources He promised the Levites (Levitical priesthood) for their inheritance. He called out the nation of Israel for their negligence.

God goes on further in Malachi with a command and a challenge: 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” The storehouse is His “house” from which ministry emanates. Consistent with the principles of seedtime and harvest in Genesis 8:22, God challenges the children of Israel to test Him with their giving (sowing seed). He said He would “open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (harvest). He didn’t stop there.

In verses 11 and 12 God says, 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts; 12 “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts. 

While the imagery depicts an agricultural setting from which prosperity is derived, it translates to any manner of living from which you prosper, one in which Satan can steal from you. He’s the devourer. God said he would rebuke the devourer for my sake. You might be tempted to say, “That’s an Old Testament promise,” however, every reference to giving in the New Testament comes with a promise to receive from God. When God makes a promise, it’s on us to believe Him to perform it. In this case, the ensuing faith action to our believing God is our giving. Try it and see if He “will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” See if He “will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.”

While I’ve seen God’s promise in this area manifest many times, a particular instance comes to mind. I owned a 1998 Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck. The body was pristine, but the frame was rusted. The frame had gotten so bad that the truck became unsafe. My son, Kevin, was driving it at the time, and he had a friend do some welding on the frame. Still the truck was unsafe. I had him get several quotes from local junk yards to junk the vehicle. The best price he got was $400. 

On a lark, Kevin reached out to a local Toyota dealership to see if there were any recalls on the vehicle. In fact, there was a recall over multiple years (1998 included) for the steel used in frames over those years. It was the wrong steel, subject to significant corrosion. Toyota was offering a repair or replacement option for vehicles up to 15 years from the time the vehicle was sold new. Toyota informed us we had four days left on the warranty. Toyota replaced the vehicle for $13,861.50! I only paid $11,000 for the truck and drove it for seven years. Our God rebukes the devourer for our sake when we give. Praise the Lord!