And they have not said: Where is the Lord, that made us come up out of the land of Egypt? that led us through the desert, through a land uninhabited and unpassable, through a land of drought, and the image of death, through a land wherein no man walked, nor any man dwelt?

“Here he continues the order of judgment: first he sets forth the accusation; second, he rejects the excuse, at the place, "I planted you a chosen vine, wholly a true seed." The first is divided into three. First he aggravates their faults from their ingratitude for benefits; second, from the enormity of the deed, at "therefore I will yet contend in judgment with you"; third, from the obstinacy of their mind, at "is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave?" Concerning the first, three points. First he clears himself of blame, lest the cause of the ingratitude should seem to lie in himself: "What did your fathers find in me?" Of evil, namely, that there was none. "They went far away" — for a long time they withdrew. "Vanity" — idols, which do not profit their worshippers. Mic. 6: "My people, what have I done to you, or in what have I troubled you? Answer me." Second, he sets forth the abundance of his benefits, touching especially on the leading out from Egypt. And he touches on this benefit in three ways. As to the place from which he led them out: "and they did not say, Where is the Lord?" — seeking me with their whole desire. "To go up" — because of the position of the land. Below, 26: "I led them out of the land of Egypt." As to the way by which he led them: "who led them through the desert (...) the image of death" — because by its very appearance it threatened death. Deut. 8: "he was your leader in the wilderness." And as to the land into which he led them: "and I led you into the land of Carmel" — because of a likeness of fertility, not because that mountain is in the land of promise. Num. 14: "the land which we went around is exceedingly good." Third, he sets forth the fault of ingratitude; first, as regards all in common: "and having entered you defiled it" — with idols. Ps. 105: "the land was infected with bloodshed, and was defiled by their works." Second, as regards the prelates specially: "priests" — whose office it is to lead to God; "those who hold the law" — the doctors; "shepherds" — the princes, whose office it is to call back from idolatry. Isa. 56: "the shepherds themselves have not known understanding."”

“And I brought you into a plentiful country,.... "Into the land of Carmel", as in the Hebrew text; that is, "into the land of Israel, which was planted as Carmel,'' as the Targum paraphrases it; with wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olives; a land flowing with milk and honey, Deu 8:8, so Ben Melech: to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; of vineyards and oliveyards, which they had not planted, and for which they had never laboured, Jos 24:13, but when ye entered ye defiled my land; which the Lord had chosen above all lands, where he would have a temple built for his worship, and where he would cause his Shechinah or glorious Majesty to dwell; but this they defiled by their sins and transgressions, and particularly by their idolatry, as follows: that made mine heritage an abomination; by devoting it to the worship of idols, as the Targum paraphrases it.”

“Neither said they, Where, &c.--The very words which God uses (Isa 63:9, Isa 63:11, Isa 63:13), when, as it were, reminding Himself of His former acts of love to Israel as a ground for interposing in their behalf again. When they would not say, Where is Jehovah, &c., God Himself at last said it for them (compare see on Jer 2:2). deserts . . . pits--The desert between Mount Sinai and Palestine abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden often sink down to the knees. "Shadow of death" refers to the darkness of the caverns amidst the rocky precipices (Deu 8:15; Deu 32:10).”