Deuteronomy 8:3(LEB): 3 And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and then he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all that goes out of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live.
Matthew 4:4 (LEB): 4 But he answered and* said, “It is written, Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ “
The Words of Jesus as quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, teaches us a great deal about abiding daily by the instructions of God. The pathway to greatness is realized by one who has mastered hearing and heeding what the Lord has to say.
Forty years of journeying in the dessert as the Bible says was a test to see what was in the heart of the people(Deut 8:2), whether they would diligently keep the commandments of God. Many times they failed as their hearts strayed away to serve other gods, not just idols but self.
Self is the greatest adversary to the life of every believer. When self has the ability to rule, we quiet the voice of the Lord. Detecting the voice of self is to recognize the prideful human voice the hastens men to act, pressures men to do things that supposedly redeems only momentarily. Living by the proceeding Word calls for humility of the human Spirit, to allow the voice of God have precedence.
Many times prophets begin a statement with thus saith the Lord, it took men who were in total submission to God to deliver such Words. As we begin this study submit your heart, your wisdom and every knowing unto the Lord. We have tried many attempts to establish and figure out things on our own. Let us surrender and come to the Lord to receive guidance so we do not labor in vain.