Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
Jeremiah 2:2–7 pictures God remembering Israel’s “kindness” and “love” in the wilderness like a honeymoon; what does God’s way of remembering expose about His heart, and what might it mean that God highlights early love rather than merely listing Israel’s failures?
Another way to ask: God remembers Israel’s early “love” in the wilderness like a honeymoon. What does that show about God’s heart, and why would He point to their early love instead of only listing their sins?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, God’s “remembering” shows a relational heart that values intimacy and covenant love, even when His people have been unfaithful. Highlighting the “honeymoon” exposes what God wanted the relationship to be and what Israel has abandoned.
- Jeremiah begins with God saying, “I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals… when thou wentest after me in the wilderness.”
- The speaker notes God is “hearkening back to the intimacy that he used to have with Israel… when he walked with Israel in the wilderness.”
- He calls it “almost like… their honeymoon period,” stressing affection rather than starting with a failure list.
- He finds it “ironic” because Israel “disobeyed many times,” yet God still frames it as “when you walked with me.”
- He later connects restored intimacy to obedience in John 15: through obedience “that intimate relationship with God is once again open.”