Malachi 3:11

11 I will rebuke the devourer ^[a] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

Malachi 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 3:11

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes
Or "eater" ^F13; the locust or caterpillar, or any such devouring creature, that eats up the herbage, corn, and fruits of trees; every such creature is under the restraint of Providence; and by a nod, a rebuke, they are easily prevented doing the mischief they otherwise would; these are the Lord's great army, which he can send and call off as he pleases, ( Joel 1:4 ) ( 2:25 ) :

and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground;
as he has done, by eating all green things, as the locust, caterpillar, and canker worm do, grass, corn, and trees:

neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the
field;
which some understand of the devourer or locust, that that should not cause the vine to be abortive, or cast its fruit before its time, or bereave it of it; but it seems best to interpret it of the vine itself not casting its fruit, as an untimely birth, by blighting and blasting winds:

saith the Lord of hosts;
who holds the winds in his fists, and will not suffer them when he pleases, any more than the locusts, to hurt the trees of the earth, ( Revelation 7:1 Revelation 7:3 ) ( 9:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (lkab) "comedentem", Drusius, Cocceius; "eum qui comedit", Burkius.

Malachi 3:11 In-Context

9 You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.

11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

13 “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’

Footnotes

• [a]. The devourer is probably a name for a crop-destroying pest.