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“I remembered the mercy of your youth,” that is, the mercy that I showed you when I delivered you from slavery in Egypt, and you followed Me into the wilderness. “And the love of your patience” (Jer. 2:2). And then you did not have the patience to remain faithful to God until Moses descended from the mountain. “Holy is Israel to the Lord, the firstfruits of His fruits,” that is, when they came into possession of the land of their inheritance, “all who eat it will sin” (Jer. 2:3), because they eat the firstfruits (firstfruits) provided to the priests, and do not keep the law of the Lord. “This says the Lord, “What sin did your fathers find in Me, because they departed from Me?” ...and not asking: where is the Lord, who brought us out from the land of Egypt, who led us through the desert, through an uninhabited and impenetrable land, through a land... barren... shadows of death and? And I led you to... Carmel." Carmel (garden) calls the land of promise, as a country filled with consolations due to the fertility of the land and the abundance of vegetation; Pines and oaks, olive and laurel trees grew here, and there were many flowers. “And they came down and defiled my land” (Jer. 2:5-7) with idols that they had created for themselves. “The imam will deal with you in judgment... and with the sons of your sons... yours” (Jer. 2:9). This includes those Israelites who initially entered and took possession of the land of Canaan and did not keep the covenant with their Lord, and the sons of their sons who lived during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. “For this reason, come to the islands of Hettim and see, that is, the islands lying to the west of the promised land, and send them to Kedar” (Jer. 2:10), that is, to those living east of the land of Canaan. “My people have done two evils,” firstly, “Forsaken me” (Jer. 2:13), and then they increased their wickedness by the fact that during their exodus to the promised land, the idol made by Micah (Judges 17:4) was placed in Shiloh, where I chose a dwelling for Myself; Moreover, at their departure on the day of their migration at the beginning of the reign of Manasseh, they retreated from Me, like a swift stream they rushed to the works of the wicked, and were not content with deifying all the powers of heaven in every place, but even dared to place idols and graven images of all kinds in My very sanctuary, and to worship them. “And he dug up for himself broken treasures, which were not able to contain water” (Jer. 2:13). The prophet calls broken treasures, which do not contain water, either vain and false gods, because hope in them is vain, or the very offerings to these gods, because both sacrifices and vows did not bring any benefit and were in vain. Therefore God says: “You have forsaken the source... life,” and they went and dug up broken treasures for themselves, gods who do not have the power to give life to their worshipers, because they themselves do not have it. “A lion roars against him” (Jer. 2:15); kings and kingdoms roar at them like lions. “And the sons of Memphis and Taphne will break your head” (Jer. 2:16); “head” - that is, the Egyptians will captivate several families of Judah, drive them out of their land, and resettle them to Memphis and Taphnis, cities of Egypt. “And now why should you go to the way of Egypt, drinking muddy water?” (Jer.2:18). The prophet calls Geon (Nile) a muddy river, because the water of the Nile is really muddy. “And your malice will expose you.” You will be convicted of the punishment that your malice and your stubbornness bring upon you. “And repentance will overwhelm you” (Jer. 2:19), that is, sorrow and mourning will befall you because of the punishment that has befallen you, “From time immemorial I have broken your yoke and torn apart... your bonds” (Jer. 2:20), that is, I have broken the yoke imposed on you by the Egyptians. “But I planted fruitful grapes for you, all true: how you have become and resisted Me, and like alien grapes” (Jer. 2:21), as if you were not planted by Me and not for Me. “Even if you wash yourself with nitrate and multiply for yourself the herbs of Borithus,” purifications and sacrifices cannot make you clean. “Thou art depraved in thy iniquities before Me” (Jer. 2:22). Here, as in many other places, the prophet denounces the vain observance of Jewish rites and the vain hope for sacrifices, because the Jews neither observe the law nor fear punishment, but only sinfully think that God can be appeased by their gifts. “What do you say: we will not become defiled?” (Jer.2:23). You are desecrated by both the idols that you have made for yourself and the iniquities that you commit. The prophet refers to the idols of Egypt, which Jeroboam set up in Bethel, the gods of Sidon, which Ahab introduced at the instigation of Jezebel, as well as the morals of the Jews, damaged by serving false deities. “You have lifted up your voice for those who are corrupt in their ways, like a wonderous ass in the wilderness, which rushes about in the lusts of its soul,” after Ahab and the idolatrous kings who followed him cast off the yoke of the law of God from your neck. “You breathe in the wind like a wild dog, who will turn it around?” ( Jer. 2:23–24 ). You have become like a wild dog when, inhaling the wind, he rushes, not knowing where, and no one can turn him away from the path. In these images, the prophet represents the deception of the Jews: like a wild dog changes its path, so they change idols, sometimes accepting, sometimes leaving, according to the inclination of their depraved nature; and just as it is impossible to turn a wild dog from his path, so they are attached to idolatry and have become like foolish cattle, unable to comprehend and perceive the dignity of true worship of God. “Turn away your foot from nakedness, and your throat from thirst” (Jer. 2:25). According to the admonition of the ancient prophets, you rejected disasters from yourself, they delivered your leg from exposure and your larynx from thirst and hunger, and freed you from other disasters that slaves endure in captivity. Therefore, beware lest you again fall into oppression for worshiping idols. The same image is used in Isaiah, when God threatens the Egyptians and Ethiopians with captivity, saying: “just as my servant Isaiah walked naked and barefoot... in the same way the king of Assyria will take away the captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia” (Is. 20:3-4). “As the thief shall be ashamed, so shall the children of Israel be ashamed” (Jer. 2:26). Just as a thief is ashamed and afraid when he is caught, so the children of Israel will be in awe and ashamed when captivity suddenly befalls them, at the very time when they worshiped their idols, in whom they hoped and expected to be their helpers and saviors. “According to the number of your cities, there were your gods, O Judah” (Jer. 2:28). With this the prophet reproaches the Jewish synagogue, because the Jews multiplied their gods without number, erected temples in all cities and in every place, and placed images of pagan deities everywhere. “Was food desert for Israel?” Have I really not shown any signs or wonders? “Or is the land barren?” (Jer.2:31). You thought about Me as if I did not have the power to work miracles and could not show My usual signs and perform great deeds, and therefore you should no longer expect help and salvation from the treasury of My bounties. “Will food forget... the maiden monist of her Persians... and the bride her beauty?” (Jer.2:32). If they are busy with this every day and constantly, then why have My people forgotten Me, as if I could not, upon their return, give them the benefits that I promised? So the prophet, knowing without a doubt that captivity and resettlement were determined for the Jews by righteous and immutable judgment, now consoles them with the expectation of the blessings prepared for them upon their return from captivity. “I did not find them in places” (Jer. 2:34), that is, not in hidden places, but in open places where they worship their idols. “Behold, I judge you,” not only for your previous atrocities, but also because you say: “you have not sinned” (Jer. 2:35). “Why did you so disdain to repeat your ways?” Why do you multiply your sins and seek new refuge among the Egyptians, as in the days of Ahaz you hoped for the Assyrians? “And you will be ashamed of Egypt” (Jer. 2:36), when the Egyptians invade your land and take the inhabitants into captivity, as the Assyrians were ashamed during the reign of Manasseh, whom the Assyrian princes put in shackles and took to Babylon (2 Chron. 33:11). You might be interested in: