Israel's experience from the days of the Exodus was briefly reviewed. God's covenant with them had been, "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." Shamelessly and repeatedly had this covenant been broken. The chosen nation had "walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward." Jeremiah 7:23, 24.

Han gennemgik i korthed Israels erfaringer fra udgangen af Ægypten. Guds pagt til dem lød således: "I skal høre min røst, så vil jeg være eders Gud, og I skal være mit folk; og I skal gå på alle de veje, jeg byder eder, at det må gå eder vel." De havde ved flere lejligheder brudt denne pagt på det skændigste. Det udvalgte folk havde fulgt "deres onde hjertes stivsind og gik tilbage, ikke fremad". Jer. 7,23-24.