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I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness: the Lord speaks of himself in the person of a traveller, who unexpectedly in the wilderness findeth a vine loaded with grapes, which are most delightful and welcome to him; such love did God bear to Israel, i.e. a very strong and hearty love: the simile expresseth the greatness, not the cause, of the Divine love.
I saw your fathers; not Abraham, or Isaac, and Jacob, but your fathers whom I brought out of Egypt.
As the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time; as the earliest ripe fruit, either of the fig tree as our version, or the first-ripe of any sweet and delicious fruit tree, as the word will bear, which are most valued and desired; so was Israel dear and valued.
They went to Baalpeor: this evinceth that the prophet speaketh not of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but of those who were brought out of Egypt, as appears in the story of their deportment in Shittim, Num_25:1-3, where they committed idolatry with Baal-peor, of whose rites authors do variously discourse, some reporting them to have been practised with shameless looseness, as the rites of Bacchus, Venus, or Priapus among the Romans; others say, this idol of Moab had his name from a mountain in Moab where he was worshipped, and had a stately and famous temple; this mountain is mentioned Num_22:41, with Num_23:28; and this is the more likely opinion.
Separated themselves; they did consecrate and dedicate themselves; possibly some turned priests to the idol; however, they addicted themselves to and worshipped the idol, and brought their sacrifices.
To that shame: by way of contempt and detestation the prophet speaks of this idol, and gives it the name of shame in the abstract, to express the greatest degree of detestation of it, and of that they did.
Their abominations, their idols, and way of worshipping them,
were according as they loved; either as they fancied, or as the idolatrous women whom they loved were multiplied, so their idols were, for they took the idols with them.