Even now, even while Judah is chasing after other gods, she still calls upon the Lord and speaks to him in the way she did when the Lord brought the nation out of Egypt. Judah says to the Lord, My father, you are the friend of my youth.
In Jeremiah 2:2, the Lord had remembered those early days with fondness and sorrow, but Judah’s words in Jeremiah 3:4 suggest no deep appreciation or longing for this kind of relationship with the Lord. These are just the empty religious words of a nation who has openly defiled the land and have no heartfelt longing for the Lord who has saved them.1
4 Maintenant, n'est-ce pas? tu cries vers moi: Mon père! Tu as été l'ami de ma jeunesse!