Jeremiah 2:6

6 They did not care about me, even though I rescued them from Egypt and led them through the wilderness: a land of deserts and sand pits, a dry and dangerous land where no one lives and no one will even travel.

Jeremiah 2:6 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:6

Neither said they, where is the Lord?
&c.] They did not ask after him, nor seek his face and favour, nor worship him, nor took any notice of the blessings he bestowed upon them: that brought us up out of the land of Egypt?
by means of Moses the deliverer, with a mighty hand, and outstretched arm; for, though Moses was the instrument, God was the efficient cause of the deliverance; the favour was his, and the glory of it ought to have been given to him: that led us through the wilderness;
of "Shur", or of "Sin", the desert of Arabia, ( Exodus 15:22 ) ( 16:1 ) and a dreadful and terrible one it was: through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and
of the shadow of death;
where were scorpions, fiery serpents, drought, and no water, and so very dangerous as well as uncomfortable travelling; and yet through all this they were led, and wonderfully supplied and preserved; through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt;
there was no passenger in it, nor inhabitants on it, so that there were none to relieve them; whence it appears, that all their supply, support, and preservation, were from the Lord. The Jews ^F25 interpret this of the first man Adam, after this manner, ``all land, concerning which the first man decreed that it should be inhabited, it is inhabited; and all land, concerning which he did not decree it should be inhabited, it is not inhabited; and such they suggest was this wilderness;'' see ( Deuteronomy 8:15 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 31. 1. & Sota, fol. 46. 2.

Jeremiah 2:6 In-Context

4 Listen to the Lord's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel.

5 The Lord says: "What accusation did your ancestors bring against me? What made them turn away from me? They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

6 They did not care about me, even though I rescued them from Egypt and led them through the wilderness: a land of deserts and sand pits, a dry and dangerous land where no one lives and no one will even travel.

7 I brought them into a fertile land, to enjoy its harvests and its other good things. But instead they ruined my land; they defiled the country I had given them.

8 The priests did not ask, "Where is the Lord?' My own priests did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.