Deuteronomy 8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall you observe to do, that you may live…
It is the observing of the commandments that leads into the realm of life. In other words, something has to come first to bring them into the second thing, whatever it is.
Deuteronomy 8:1 …and multiply…
Multiplication takes place. It is as you observe, as you do, that you enter into a life realm. Then the multiplication takes place, but the process doesn’t stop there.
Deuteronomy 8:1 …and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers.
There is a lot going on here. You see the progress that takes place; one thing leads into another. But then there also needs to be an awareness of what the Lord has sworn to the fathers, to those who have gone before you. In other words, if you haven’t studied the Scriptures and know what the Lord has spoken, you will not know what to move into.
Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee…
The wilderness is the place of being led. The wilderness is where you learn. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they were led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, but they were led. It was their training period, boot camp so to speak. It was also a weeding out. All those who didn’t make it were set aside.
But God led them for forty years. Forty is very important in the Scriptures. It speaks of a time of testing. What was He doing during that wilderness? Humbling you, bringing you to a place of humility. That is part of the first thing. You have to learn how to humble yourself before the Lord. Lo and behold, you have to learn how to humble yourself one to another, because the Lord is there. You reach a place of humility in the Lord. You sail along for awhile and then you hit a speed bump. You think, “Gosh, I’m still in the wilderness. What’s going on?” Well, there is another phase of humility you have to learn. It is not a one-time deal – “Okay, I’ve learned humility and that’s it.” It’s like all this progression here: observe the Word that you might live, then there has to be some multiplication, some advancement – go in and possess the word that has been spoken.
Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether you would keep His commandments, or no.
“God wants to know what’s in my heart.” No, He wants you to know what is in your heart. Without this time of testing in the wilderness, you won’t learn what is in your heart. When you learn what is in your heart, you will say as Isaiah, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). But you have to know what it is in your heart, because you have to know what needs to be emptied out. And you have to know whether you will keep His commandments or not.
Deuteronomy 8:3 And He humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord does man live.
Jesus went into His wilderness and if He didn’t get exempt from it, neither do we. You don’t get exempted from the wilderness. The Lord had to go; we have to go in also. What will surprise you is that you go in more than one time because there are many levels in the Lord, which means there will be some wilderness before each one. You have to be tested. It takes a certain depth of humility to move into a certain realm of God. When you move into that realm, you think, “Boy, I’m doing fine.” Then you realize there is continual progress and there has to be another one, so the humility has to take on a deeper humility.
He allows you to be hungry and feeds you with manna you do not know. We have talked in many messages about the manna the Israelites partook of which was lying on top of the ground in the morning. When they went to bed at night there was no manna on the ground; they didn’t know anything about it. In fact, when they first saw it they said, “What is it?” They didn’t know what it was. But here all of sudden there was something hidden in God that is now lying on the surface and they can get it. They partook of the manna. If they tried to hoard some up and save it for the next day, it would breed worms. The Israelites had to get only what they needed for that one day, their daily provision. There is a daily provision that God has for you. It says in the Lord’s prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We are praying, “I am aware that You have a provision for me this day and I am setting my heart to receive it. I realize it is going to take a greater humility.” We are moving into a new wilderness that we might move into a new realm in God. So there is manna for that day.
We have also talked about the hidden manna. It is not so hard to gather the manna lying on the surface of the ground. Of course, the day before it was hidden because you couldn’t see it. Now it is on top of the ground. There is a hidden manna that you still haven’t found. When you begin receiving the hidden manna, the secrets of the Lord, hidden revelations, they are not hidden anymore. They are like surface manna again. Then there is other hidden manna beyond that. Do you understand what I am saying? There is always going to be some hidden manna.
One of the things we have repeatedly put in the messages of The Trumpet is the concept that too often Christians believe to have something that they do not really have – they assume. They say they are born again; all things have passed away and all things have become new. Actually, they have hardly taken a good step, much less a giant step. They have merely partaken of the surface manna, and there are many levels of manna still hidden.
For forty years God humbles us in the wilderness. Now let’s look at that first verse again. I want you to see the progress.
Deuteronomy 8:1 All the commandments which I command you this day shall you observe to do. All the ones of this day, observe them and do them.
…that you may live…Where? In the next day.
…and multiply. Now we’re not going to have two of each of us, but there is going to be an increase in each one of us. There is going to be a multiplication of what is in you. Not only a multiplication of the Lord but of His host. You have the prophet Isaiah having a ministry in you and Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, and John and all the others because you have been partaking of their word. Consequently, there is something of their spirit that is in you, moving in you and helping you into the next level, believe it or not.
So that you may live, and multiply… What is that for? That you might go in. “You mean after all that there is something left to go into?” Oh yes. The increase of His Kingdom is without end (Isaiah 9:7).
And go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers. Peter talks about a realm in Acts 3:19-21. There is a realm which the Lord has promised that hasn’t been entered yet.
And you shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led you. Now, you want to remember the way the Lord has led you up to this point, because that is indicative of the way He is going to lead you into the next day and into the next level. The leading doesn’t stop. You don’t arrive and say, “I’ve made it. I’m born again. I’m just like He is. I’m set and ready to go to heaven.” I remember this old brother at a church I was visiting. He stood up and testified, “Saved and sanctified; all my sins are forgiven and I’m ready to go to heaven.” He doesn’t even know what it is to be a Christian yet. He’s ready to go. I don’t mean that as a put down to him, but what I am saying is that same attitude is in every one of us to some degree. We want to feel like we are there; we’re more spiritual than what we are. That is the reason Paul keeps telling us, “Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to think” (Romans 12:3). The reason he said that is because it is human nature to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. The Lord just lets us know no matter how far you have gone, no matter which phase of this transition you are in, no matter which level of hidden manna you are partaking of, there is more. That hidden manna that you have and love so much, tomorrow it will be wormy. It’s not going to be so good.
Deuteronomy 8:4 Your raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
In all the time of this testing of the wilderness experience that you go through your raiment does not grow old or become threadbare. We take that to mean that whatever clothes the Israelites were wearing lasted, but what Moses is talking about here is the raiment that God is clothing them with as they go through the wilderness. They had plenty of things to make new shoes and clothing with. They had all the animals and all the things of the wilderness which was not completely void of life. So they had these things and all the garments of the Lord.
As you are being led by the Lord from one level to another, God has garments for you. In the first book of Samuel, it tells of the boy Samuel being given to Eli, given to the Lord there at the temple. Every year his mother, Hannah, would make a coat for him (I Samuel 2:19). When she went up to the house of the Lord, she would take it. She probably wondered how much he had grown since the last year. A mother has a way of knowing these things. But the garments the Lord makes for you, they don’t have a chance to wax old, to become threadbare, because as you are moving in the Lord He is continuously putting a new garment on you. However, if you are one of these folks who feel like you’ve made it and you slow down and don’t follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes anymore, then your garments will begin to wear out, to wax old. The problem is that you don’t realize it. You don’t realize how seedy you look with those old garments. But the Lord has some more that are ready for you if you are one who continues moving on in the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:5 Thou shalt also consider in your heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the Lord thy God chastens thee.
Well, that is what was taking place in the wilderness. Hebrews 12:6 says that God chastens every son He receives.
Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.
The setting of the heart to walk in His ways gets right back to verse 1: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall you observe to do, that you may live. Then verse 6: Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways … which we have talked about…, and to fear Him. Don’t leave out the fearing Him, because that is what will enable you to walk in His ways.
Copyright © 2008 by Henry DuBose