"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." (Mal 3:11) It is not a coincidence that God started talking about devourers just immediately after discussing His displeasure at how the people of Israel were stealing from Him through tithes and offerings. And it is no wonder He promised to rebuke the devourers for those that stop stealing from Him. No one can get rich or live in abundance while lighting the candle at both ends. Spending money is natural just like lighting a candle. You can hardly get by without spending some money. But when it becomes a problem is when you start to spend unnecessarily, encountering inexplicable financial loses, etc which causes you to light your candle at both ends. This is how poverty comes in... .
No matter how much you earn, if you don't have something to keep after your expenses; you will never live in abundance. This is why God is very particular about dealing with devourers.
What exactly is a devourer? Before I attempt an elaborate scholastic explanation of the subject, let me simply start by saying that a devourer is anything that causes you to spend money unnecessarily or causes you to lose money. Now, it is important to note that in the Bible times, devourers where basically pests - cankerworms, palmerworms etc which would destroy crops and result in low yield or complete loss of the crops. When devourers struck, it resulted in famine, hardship and suffering. But today, we don't earn our living through farming. We have businesses where we sell goods or offer services. But devourers still work their magic when they are not dealt with. Devourers cause you to buy a bail of clothe only to open it and see that it is all poor quality. They cause you to suffer sicknesses, disasters, etc that eats into your money. It even makes your soup sour and causes ants to enter your cooked rice. Devourers ensure that you have nothing to eat and that you keep spending money even when you don't have it. Devourers have one objection - to make you poor. This is why you must devour your devourers if you must enjoy God's abundance...
To be continued!