Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Malachi 3:11
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.
11. the devourer ] lit. eater, i.e. any insect, especially the locust, that would devour the fruits of the earth. The same verb is used of the ravages of four insects, “probably different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth” (R.V. marginal note), Joe 1:4.
The threatened curse was the “rebuke” (ch. Mal 2:3, note) of the seed: the promised blessing is the “rebuke” of the devourer.
cast her fruit before the time ] lit. miscarry. Comp. “a miscarrying womb”, Hos 9:14; “miscarrying ground”, 2Ki 2:19 ; 2Ki 2:21. So Pliny speaks of “arborum abortus”. (Pusey after Gesen.) In Rev 6:13 we read: “the stars of the heaven fall unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs, when she is shaken of a great wind.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I will rebuke the devourer – , the locust, caterpillar, or any like scourge of God. It might be, that when the rain watered the fields, the locust or caterpillar etc. might destroy the grain, so that the labors of man should perish; wherefore he adds, I will rebuke the devourer. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time, holding out a fair promise, but cut off by the frost-wind or the hail; the blossoms or the unripe fruit strewing the earth, as a token of Gods displeasure.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. I will rebuke the devourer] The locusts, c., shall not come on your crops and those that are in the country I will disperse and destroy.
Neither shall your vine cast her fruit] Every blossom shall bear fruit, and every bunch of grapes come to maturity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will rebuke; lay a restraint upon, or prohibit, and the prohibition shall be effectual; if God so check, no creature is or dares be deaf to it; such a check not only quiets the unruly sea, but can dry it up.
The devourer; all kinds of devourers, the locust, the canker-worm, caterpillar, &c., pests of those countries very often; though they are in mighty armies and incredible multitudes, yet a rebuke from God will check them all at once as if they were but one.
For your sakes; not for merit in you, but for good to you.
He shall not destroy; consume and eat it, as those vermin always did wherever they came.
The fruits of your ground; corn sown by your hand, and grass springing up of its own nature, both which these locusts devour wheresoever they come, and leave penury or famine behind them.
Neither shall your vine cast her fruit; no blasting or burning winds shall make them drop, no frosts or hails shall destroy your vines. This was once the plague of Egypt, Psa 105:33-36.
Before the time; your vines shall carry their fruit till they are fully ripe.
In the field; where they had large vineyards and oliveyards planted, and God will make them prosper if this people will return to him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. I will rebuke(See on Mal2:3). I will no longer “rebuke (English Version,‘corrupt’) the seed,” but will rebuke every agency that couldhurt it (Am 4:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,…. Or “eater” m; 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, Joe 1:4:
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, Re 7:1.
m “comedentem”, Drusius, Cocceius; “eum qui comedit”, Burkius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God now again confirms the truth, that he would not in one way only be bountiful to them. He might indeed distribute to us daily our food, as we know that he thus fed his people in the wilderness; but his will is that the seed should rot in the earth, that it should then germinate, and in course of time grow, until it shoots into ears of corn; but it is still in no small danger, nay the corn is subject to many evils before it be gathered into the garner; for the locusts, the worms, the mildew, and other things may destroy it. God therefore, in order to set forth his kindness to men, enumerates here the ways and the means by which food is preserved; for it would not be enough that the seed should germinate, and that there should appear evidences of a great produce, the ears being fine and abundant, but it is necessary that the ears of corn themselves, before they become ripe, should be preserved from above; for on the one hand the chafers, the locusts, the worms, and other grubs, may suddenly creep in and devour the corn while in the field, and on the other hand, storms, and hail, and mildew, and oilier pestilential things, as I have said, may prove ruinous to the corn.
Hence God shows here, that he takes constant care of us, and every day and every night performs the office of a good and careful head of a family, who always watches for its benefit.
In the word devourer, I include all the evils to which we see that corn is subject; he therefore says, he shall not destroy the fruit of the earth; nor bereaved shall be the vine for you in the fields. The verb שכל, shecal, properly means to bereave or to deprive; but as this version, “bereaved shall not be vine,” would be harsh, some have rendered the words thus, “Miscarry shall not vine,” which I do not disapprove: Miscarry then shall not the vine for you in the fields, saith Jehovah of hosts (259) It follows —
(259) There is no necessity for giving to שכל here any other than its ordinary meaning of bereaving or depriving. The reference is to depredators who bereaved or stripped the vine of its fruit—an evil common in a confused and disordered state of things.
The word לכם, “on your account,” is repeated in this verse three times; and it has no doubt an emphatic meaning. What is intimate evidently is, that the evils promised here to be removed were on their account, i.e., for their sins. I render the verse thus, —
And I will restrain on your account the devourer, And he shall not destroy on your account the fruit of the ground, And bereaved on your account shall not be the vine in the field, Saith the Lord of hosts
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) For your sakes.The same word as in Mal. 2:3 : here in a good sense, there in a bad.
The devoureri.e., the locust, &c.
Rebuke.Better, corrupt. The same word is used as in Mal. 2:3, but in a different construction. (With this verse comp. Hag. 1:6-11.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Mal 3:11. The devourer The moth. Houbigant. Any of those insects are meant which consume and destroy the corn.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mal 3:11 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.
Ver. 11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes ] Caterpillars, cankerworms, and such hurtful creatures. God’s terrible army, as they are notably set forth in their march and mischief, Joe 2:2-5 ; cf. Joe 1:4 , to tame his rebels, to ease him of his adversaries, and to avenge him of his enemies, Isa 1:24 . These he will rebuke (for every creature is at his beck and check), as he “rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up,” Psa 106:9 , and as he rebuked the winds, Mat 8:26 , the fever, Luk 4:39 , the devil, Mat 7:18 , he will say unto them, Abite actutum hinc, Get you hence, and that is enough, for they are all his servants, Psa 119:91 . He is the great Centurion, or rather Lord of hosts, that saith to this creature, “Go, and he goeth,” and to another, “Come, and he cometh,” &c. If he do but say, Who is on my side, who? all creatures look out at their windows, as ready prest to do his pleasure; neither is there any so mean among them, or so despicable, that cannot, if set on by him, make the proudest on earth stoop, and say, “This is the finger of God.” But of this see more in the 1st Doct. on Mal 3:18 . Let all that look for God’s blessing, either upon their persons or possessions, make their peace with God (the genealogy of grain and wine is resolved into him, Hos 2:22 ), and bring him all his tithes into the storehouse, &c., lest he blast their fair hopes, cut off the meat from their mouths, take his own and be gone, take away his grain in the time thereof, and his wine in the season thereof, &c., Hos 2:9 . The Jews in our Saviour’s time, suis malis edocti, were punctual in paying their tithes, even to a pot herb, Mat 23:23 . And at this day, though not in their own country, nor have a Levitical priesthood, yet those of them that would be reputed religious do distribute, in lieu of tithes, the tenth of their increase unto the poor: being persuaded that God doth bless their increase the more: for their usual proverb is, Decima ut dives fiat, tithe and be rich. Of the young Lord Harrington (the last of that name) it is reported by Mr Stock, who preached his funeral, that he constantly gave the tenth of his yearly revenue to pious and charitable uses. And of reverend Mr. Whately, minister of Banbury, it is likewise recorded in his life, that he set apart and expended for many years before he died for good uses the tenth part of his yearly comings in, both out of his temporal and ecclesiastical means of maintenance; and that he never thrived in his outward estate till he took that course. Besides the sweet comfort that the spirits of his wealth thus distilled, as it were, brought to his conscience, both in life and at death; and the blessing of a good name left behind him, according to that which follows next in the text, “And all nations,” &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the devourer = the eater: i.e. the locust. Compare Joe 1:4. Amo 4:9.
for your sakes = for you (the Dative of Reference),
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
rebuke: Joe 2:20, Amo 4:9, Amo 7:1-3, Hag 2:17
destroy: Heb. corrupt
neither: Deu 11:14, Jer 8:13, Joe 1:7, Joe 1:12, Joe 2:22, Hab 3:17, Zec 8:12
Reciprocal: Exo 23:26 – shall nothing Deu 7:13 – he will also Deu 11:15 – eat and be full Deu 14:29 – that the Lord Deu 16:10 – according Deu 28:3 – in the field Deu 28:8 – storehouses 1Ch 13:14 – the Lord Pro 3:10 – General Eze 36:9 – General Eze 44:30 – that he may 2Co 9:11 – enriched
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mal 3:11. The Lord even promised to protect their increasing products from the ravages of those who would devour them. The plants for fruit and other articles of food were guaranteed to bring their yield to maturity.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
3:11 And I will rebuke the {l} 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.
(l) Meaning the caterpillar, and whatever destroys corn and fruits.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Not only would God provide adequate harvests (Mal 3:10), but He would also preserve the harvested crops from animals and diseases that might otherwise destroy them. The Israelites’ grapes would also develop fully on their vines rather than dropping off prematurely. All other nations would acknowledge divine blessing on the Israelites because their land would be such a delightful place.
The Mosaic Covenant with its promises of material blessing for obedience is no longer in force (Rom 10:4; Heb 8:13). Obedience to God’s will does not necessarily result in material prosperity now (Php 1:29; Php 4:11-13). However, we do have promises that God will reward those who trust and obey Him in the next stage of our lives, after death, if not before (Act 4:31-35; 1Co 3:11-15; 2Co 5:10; 2Co 9:6-12; Gal 6:6-9; Php 4:14-19). And we enjoy many spiritual blessings now (cf. Rom 5:1-11; Eph 1:3-14).
"The issue in Mal 3:7-12 is not tithing but apostasy. Judah is charged here with abandoning the God who had chosen and blessed them and turning away from the statutes he had given them to test their loyalty and to mark the path of life he would bless. By retaining for themselves the tithes and other offerings they owed to God, the people showed their idolatrous hearts in placing themselves before God, and they showed their callous hearts in leaving the Levites and landless poor to fend for themselves." [Note: Ibid., p. 429. See also his excursus on tithing in the church, pp. 429-33.]