Deut 8: 2-7.
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands…5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you…7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing..
This is the exact type of the last days. Before God will usher us into His divine Heavenly homeland, He will test us to know what is in our hearts. He will discipline us as a Good Father. It is a life time of “40 years” of training. We are continually being trained. Heb 12:5-7.
It is not pleasant training but painful throughout our lives. But it will yield us the fruit of righteousness in Christ. Heb 12: 11
I am afraid many will fail to see the necessity of trials and suffering and make themselves into illegitimate children. Heb 12: 8.
How sad for many who believe only in the good things in this life in the land and “settle” down like the Israelites and forget God gradually. Deut 8:12-14
My brothers and sisters, how necessary is the attitude to live as exiles or pilgrims during these “40 years” of wilderness training ! Heb 11:13-16.