Midrash for Deuteronomy 8:2
וְזָכַרְתָּ֣ אֶת־כָּל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֹלִֽיכֲךָ֜ יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ זֶ֛ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר לְמַ֨עַן עַנֹּֽתְךָ֜ לְנַסֹּֽתְךָ֗ לָדַ֜עַת אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֧ר בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֛ הֲתִשְׁמֹ֥ר מצותו [מִצְוֺתָ֖יו] אִם־לֹֽא׃
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Deut. 29:9 [10]:) <YOU ARE STANDING TODAY, ALL OF YOU BEFORE THE LORD:> YOUR TRIBAL LEADERS, <YOUR ELDERS, AND YOUR LAW OFFICERS>. Although I have appointed for you heads, judges, elders, and law officers, you shall all be equal before me, since it is stated (ibid., cont.): EVERY PERSON IN ISRAEL.4Tanh., Deut. 8:2.
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Midrash Tanchuma
And God did prove Abraham (Gen. 22:1). Observe this difference between the earlier generations and the later generations: The earlier generations were tested by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: And God did prove Abraham. And Scripture elsewhere states regarding the generation of the desert: That He might afflict thee to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart (Deut. 8:2). But later generations were tested by the nations of the world, for it is said: Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them (Judg. 3:1).
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