Jeremiah 2:2
2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem:
‘This is what the
Lord says: “I have fond memories of you,
how devoted you were to me in your early years.
I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.
Deuteronomy 8:14-16
8:14 be sure
you do not feel self-important and forget the
Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery,
8:15 and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents
and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow
from a flint rock and
8:16 fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you
and eventually bring good to you.
Deuteronomy 32:10
32:10 The Lord found him in a desolate land,
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.
He continually guarded him and taught him;
he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.