Story by Arthur Maxwell
“I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty,” (Malachi 3:11 NIV).
The tomato plants – twenty-seven acres of them were all coming along well. Already they were covered with blossom, with promise of a very large crop. Looking over the big field, Farmer Jones naturally thought of the harvest, soon to be reaped, and how much he would get for it. “Those tomatoes mean at least $4,000 to me,” he said. “I hope nothing goes wrong with them; they are all I have.”
An Army
But even as he spoke an enemy was on the way. It was an army, not of men, but of worms – small, hungry creatures like caterpillars that move in such large numbers that they are called army worms. They will eat a field clean of every green thing with the speed of locusts.
One morning, as Farmer Jones was walking around his field to see if all was well, he saw the worms in one corner of it, and cold fear seized him. He knew it would be but a matter of days before they had swarmed over all his precious plants and devoured the lot.
He hurried indoors to tell his wife. “Come, look, the army worms are here,” he called. “Our crop is lost.” Mother ran out to see, and her heart sank also, for she, too, knew what it meant. The family’s living was at stake. Food, clothes, home itself – all depend upon that tomato crop, and now the army worms were eating it up.
Then the children ran to look, and they were worried, too, for they had worked long hours helping father to prepare the land, plant the tomatoes, and irrigate them. “What are we going to do?” asked Jamey. “We can never kill them all.”
“No, we can never kill them all,” said father.
“There are too many, and they seem to multiply every minute Father,” said Mary, “we must ask Jesus to help us.”
“But what can He do for us in trouble like this?”
“But doesn’t it say somewhere in the Bible, Father, ‘I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes’: Why don’t we claim that promise?” said Mary.
“Perhaps we should,” said father, “but it’s pretty hopeless, now.”
Rebuke the Devourer
“I am going to look it up in the Bible,” said Mary. And she did. She found it in the book of Malachi, and read it out to the others: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
“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,” (Malachi 3:10, 11).
“There it is, Father,” she said eagerly. “I knew it was there. You see now it says that if we are faithful in paying our tithe to God, then God will ‘rebuke the devourer’ for our sakes. You pay your tithe, Father, so God must do what He says. Maybe He is just waiting for us to ask Him. Why don’t we pray right now?”
Somehow the others caught Mary’s spirit of faith in the heavenly Father. They knelt down in that tomato field and prayed to God as they had never prayed before, claiming His promised protection. Father prayed. Mother prayed. The children prayed. They told God how they had tried to be faithful to Him; how they had paid their tithe honestly to His cause to the best of their knowledge and ability, and how they wanted to serve Him loyally all their days. Then they told Him of the terrible thing that was happening to them, and how much they needed His help. “Fulfill Thy promise, Lord,” they cried. “Rebuke the devourer!”
Then something happened. You may find it difficult to believe, but I know it’s true. I have visited that field, which is less than a hundred miles from my home. I have talked with the farmer and his wife and his children. They saw this miracle with their own eyes and will never forget it.
Hardly had they ceased praying than a blackbird appeared. Then came another, and another, and yet another. Dozens of blackbirds. Scores of blackbirds. Hundreds of blackbirds. The sky was literally black with them. They came and settled on that field and ate up every army worm that was there. They stayed exactly two hours, but when they left, rising up like a black clod and flying away, chattering excitedly to one another, there was not a single army worm to be found on that tomato field. Not a single plant was lost, and the whole crop was gathered in.
So God kept His promise! He even called upon the blackbirds to go to the rescue of His faithful children. Wonderful God. Wonderful Savior. Let us trust Him more.1
Sources:
1 Maxwell, Arthur S. Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories. Vol. Book 2. Mountain View California: Pacific Association. Print. The Children’s Hour. Print. P 131-134.