Day 5 - Rebuke The Devourer

"11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 3:11-12, ESV).

Following Pastor Nate's post, I was reading Malachi. When I read these two verses, the Lord made them jump off the page! What a God-thing that Nate would write that, and that the Lord would lead me here. 

He's telling us how He's going to protect the blessings that He will provide for us in 2023: HE will rebuke the devourer! Yesterday's post mentioned cattle, what is living, safety, abundance, and multiplication of blessing. These are all good things that are blessings. Those are the things the Lord wants to protect by rebuking the devourer! 

When Malachi talks about "the devourer," it's easy for us to think he's talking about the evil one, the devil. Interestingly enough, he's actually referring to locusts. More precisely, he's referring to a swarm of locusts. When you look at a locust, it doesn't seem that powerful. Even if you see a swarm of locusts, they really aren't all that powerful. They can't cause you physical harm. You might be grossed out if there are a lot of locusts around you, but they won't trip you or cause you any hurt. 

But for the prophet, locusts are very powerful. They're powerful because they can devour the fruits of your soil, causing the vine to cease from bearing fruits. These fruits represent the blessings of God. They represent the delight of God, the gifts of God to us, and even favor in this life. It's possible for us to not experience the blessings of God because the "locusts" of the world have devoured them. These "locusts" could be many things: busyness, unbelief, ungratefulness, envy, jealousy, pride, sin, lies, hate, anxiety, the evil one, and many, many more. 

The Lord recognizes how powerful the devourer can be. And He responds accordingly: "I will rebuke the devourer for you." The Almighty God has said He will rebuke the devourer for you. He's all-powerful, so there doesn't exist any locust that He can't rebuke. What is the point of the rebuking? So that His people can live in blessing. 

When we live in His blessing, all the nations (people around you) will call you blessed, and you (your house, your company) will be a land of delight. In 2023, I want to be blessed and I want to be a delight to those around me. How about you? I bet you feel the same way. You want to be blessed and a blessing, and you want to be a delight for others. It's possible. It will come to pass in 2023. Believe it, proclaim it, and receive it! 

Let's make a bold decree together: "I will be blessed and a blessing; I will be a delight for others. And it's all thanks to You, O Lord!" 

-Pastor Tim