Former Bliss (2:1-3):

2:1–3 God again commissions Jeremiah to speak an oracle to the residents of Jerusalem. The oracle reminds the Judeans of their former intimate relationship with God. Jeremiah uses the metaphor of marriage to make his point here. The beginning of the relationship between God and his people was like a honeymoon—pure devotion. The bride, Israel, followed the groom, God, through hard places like the desert, also called a land not sown. This language reminds the hearers of the wilderness wanderings (Exod. 13:7–Deut. 34:12). The picture presented here, of course, is an idealized one, considering the troubles that were experienced in the wilderness (e.g., Num. 13–14). According to DeRoche, the wilderness is not being idealized but rather “the attitude that Israel showed Yahwe…