“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. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:11-12 KJV
Going back to the previous three verses of Malachi, we read that God told the Israelites to test him, in that if they are generous with their tithes and offerings, He will “open you the window of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it”. The promise of His rewarding is continued into the next two verses. God promises the Israelites that He will protect their fruits of their ground from the “devourer” and that their fruits would also not fall to the ground “before the time in the field”. In the world at this time, farming was of huge importance and a focal point of worries. We can reference back to Genesis, when Joseph went from prisoner to ruler because he (with the help of God) prophesied through the pharaohs dream about a coming seven years of bountiful harvest followed by a seven year famine. Because of this, they stored up plenty of crops to not only provide for their people but also to sell to others and amass great wealth. These days it’s rarely a thought, in most people’s mind, about the harvest and threats to crops, unless something happens and we are told the prices are going to skyrocket. However, in these verses God promises that their fruits will be protected from destruction or falling to the ground too early.
Because of this promise for abundant harvest, God says that “nations shall call you blessed and a delightsome land. A nation with a bountiful harvest will be looked on as prospering because its people will be fell fed and again gain wealth from trade. The Hebrew word for blessed is āšar (aw-shar) which means to go straight on, advance, make progress, and to pronounce or be made happy. A city with a bountiful harvest in that time would be made happy, whether or not the glory is given to God would depend if they are advancing straight with the Spirit.
How can this be interpreted for Christians today?
I believe this is best explained in Galatians 5: 16-24 where its said:
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
The works of the flesh are the actions when we are focused on being generous to ourselves and our own desires of the flesh. On the other hand, the works of the Spirit are manifested through the overflowing of the fruits that harvested by one that is grounded in the Spirit. One that is filled with kindness over envy, peace over fits of anger, love or divisions, and faithfulness over idolatry, is one that through the overflowing of these virtues is more inclined to being generous to others with their time, talents, and treasures. I believe the outpouring of the Spirit becomes a cycle of giving and receiving. Where through these selfless acts walking in the Spirit, which is against the flesh, the Spirit continues to rebuke the devourer, which is the flesh.
Is there a “thorn in your side” or desire of the flesh that is difficult to overcome?
Or
What is something you do to ensure you are advancing with the Spirit?
““Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’””
In these verses (13-15) I believe God is specifically targeting a work of the flesh which is envying and jealousy. I was wondering why both of these words were used in verses of Galatians. Jealousy which is: a jealous disposition, attitude, or feeling hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage. Envying which is: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage. As you can see these words are synonyms that both are used to show actions that are caused by ones feeling of what another has. These actions in and of themselves are works of the flesh, that are manifested by ones desire for what they have and not grateful for what God has given them. Think about how God must be grieved when his children want what someone else’s kids have? Can you relate?
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” Malachi 3:16-18 ESV
In ESV the word “spoke” is used: which is the Hebrew word dābar (daw-bar) that means to speak, declare, converse, warn, threaten, or sing. and in John MacArthurs bible it refers to Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 where its written: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
However, in the KJV version, its written as “spake” and my KJV bible references this to Hebrews 3:13: “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
These two different refernces used in different versions of the Bible create an interesting point. That we should fight against these works of the flesh in two ways: 1. By teaching them to our kids consistently and 2. Exhorting each other: to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort.
What are ways you have worked to fight against the flesh?
Participation in this fight against the flesh is I believe the process of sanctification. God notices those that are in the fight and writes them in the “ book of remembrance”. Those that are written in this book will be remembered in verses 17-18: ““They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”
Here, it says that those who battle against the flesh shall be spared in the day God raises up His people or “treasured possession” and spare them from His judgement. “In the day” and “once more” is showing the day the Lord Jesus Christ returns and judges the righteous from the unrighteous will be the final example of those who served God and those who did not.
Father, thank you for bringing us together and showing us The Way. Thank you for giving us others who help us through this hard battle of sanctification, especially Your Son Jesus who leads us in this fight. I pray Father that you continue to strengthen each of us so that we can extend the overflowing of Your Spirit to others and build them up when they need it. I pray that we can continue to express our hope for the day of Your return, which brings more, as its said in Matthew 25, to the right side which will inherit Your Kingdom, for Your Glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
33 and a Third 