There seems to be much interest and discussion on the prophecy of Jeremiah and whether the message he delivered was one about Jerusalem's desolation, or about the servitude of Jerusalem and all the nations all around it, to Babylon. Was Jeremiah's message about the 70 years, a message of total desolation, for just the Jews in Jerusalem and Judah, or was the 70 years a message about Babylon's time as a world power? Babylon was used by Jehovah, for punishing his wayward people and then at the end of Babylons appointed time, she also was punished by Jehovah.
It is doubtful that the average Witness has actually taken the time to sit down and read the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah's commission was to try and get the people of Jerusalem to listen to Jehovah their God. If they did, there would be no punishment, but if they didn't listen, then they would be taken off their land and their city would be destroyed. Even the surrounding nations were included. The context makes the picture come into focus, that all these nations, which included Jerusalem, were commanded to serve the king of Babylon. This servitude was to take place within the 70 years of the Neo-babylonian kings.
Take a look at the overall picture of the highlights of chapter 1-27 of the book of Jeremiah.
I believe the main message is to many nations, not just the Jews in Jerusalem. They were all to serve Nebuchadnezzar until Jehovah made a change. Their servitude ended when the last Babylonian king was overthrown in 539 B.C.
Chapter 1
5 "Before I was forming you in the belly I knew you, and before you proceeded to come forth from the womb I sanctified you.
Prophet to the nations I made you."10 See, I have commissioned you this day to
be over the nations and over the kingdoms , in order to uproot and to pull down and to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant."Chapter 7
28 And you must say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah its God, and have not taken discipline. Faithfulness has perished, and it has been cut off from their mouth.’
Chapter 9
9 "Because of these things should I not hold an accounting with them?" is the utterance of Jehovah. "Or upon a nation that is like this should not my soul avenge itself?
25 "Look! Days are coming," is the utterance of Jehovah, "and I will hold an accounting with everyone circumcised [but still] in uncircumcision, 26
upon Egypt and upon Judah and upon E´dom and upon the sons of Am´mon and upon Mo´ab and upon all those with hair clipped at the temples who are dwelling in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."Chapter 10
25 Pour out your rage upon the nations who have ignored you , and upon the families who have not called even upon your name. For they have eaten up Jacob. Yes, they have eaten him up, and they keep at exterminating him; and his abiding place they have desolated.
Chapter 12
14 This is what Jehovah has said against all my bad neighbors , who are touching the hereditary possession that I caused my people, even Israel, to possess: "Here I am uprooting them from off their ground ; and the house of Judah I shall uproot from the midst of them . 15 And it must occur that after my uprooting them I shall again certainly have mercy upon them and will bring them back, each one to his hereditary possession and each one to his land."
17 But if they will not obey, I will also uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying [it]," is the utterance of Jehovah.
Chapter 1610 "And it must occur that, when you tell to this people all these words and they actually say to you, ‘On what account has Jehovah spoken against us all this great calamity, and what is our error and what is our sin with which we have sinned against Jehovah our God?’ 11 you must also say to them, ‘"On account of the fact that YOUR fathers left me ," is the utterance of Jehovah, "and they kept going after other gods and serving them and bowing down to them. But me they left, and my law they did not keep. 12 And YOU yourselves have acted worse in YOUR doing than YOUR fathers, and here YOU are walking each one after the stubbornness of his bad heart in not obeying me. 13 And I will hurl YOU out from off this land into the land that YOU yourselves have not known, neither YOUR fathers, and there YOU will have to serve other gods day and night, because I shall not give YOU any favor."’
Chapter 258 "Therefore this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘"For the reason that YOU did not obey my words, 9 here I am sending and I will take all the families of the north," is the utterance of Jehovah, "even [sending] to Neb·u·chad·rez´zar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of astonishment and something to whistle at and places devastated to time indefinite. 10 And I will destroy out of them the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the hand mill and the light of the lamp. 11 And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years."’
12 "‘And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘their error, even against the land of the Chal·de´ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite.
13 And I will bring in upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, even all that is written in this book that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For even they themselves, many nations and great kings, have exploited them as servants; and I will repay them according to their activity and according to the work of their hands.’"
17 And I proceeded to take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah and to make all the nations drink to whom Jehovah had sent me: 18 namely, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and her kings, her princes, to make them a devastated place, an object of astonishment, something to whistle at and a malediction, just as at this day; 19 Phar´aoh the king of Egypt and his servants and his princes and all his people; 20 and all the mixed company, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Phi·lis´tines and Ash´ke·lon and Ga´za and Ek´ron and the remnant of Ash´dod; 21 E´dom and Mo´ab and the sons of Am´mon; 22 and all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Si´don and the kings of the island that is in the region of the sea; 23 and De´dan and Te´ma and Buz and all those with hair clipped at the temples; 24 and all the kings of the Arabs and all the kings of the mixed company who are residing in the wilderness; 25 and all the kings of Zim´ri and all the kings of E´lam and all the kings of the Medes; 26 and all the kings of the north who are near and far away, one after the other, and all the [other] kingdoms of the earth that are on the surface of the ground; and the king of She´shach himself will drink after them.
29 For, look! it is upon the city upon which my name is called that I am starting off in bringing calamity, and should YOU yourselves in any way go free of punishment?"’
"‘ YOU will not go free of punishment , for there is a sword that I am calling against all the inhabitants of the earth,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.
31 "‘A noise will certainly come clear to the farthest part of the earth, for there is a controversy that Jehovah has with the nations. He must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.
32 "This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Look! A calamity is going forth from nation to nation , and a great tempest itself will be roused up from the remotest parts of the earth. ...
Chapter 27‘Make for yourself bands and yoke bars, and you must put them upon your neck. 3 And you must send them to the king of E´dom and to the king of Mo´ab and to the king of the sons of Am´mon and to the king of Tyre and to the king of Si´don by the hand of the messengers who are coming to Jerusalem to Zed·e·ki´ah the king of Judah.
4 And you must give them a command for their masters, saying:
"‘"This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said; this is what YOU should say to YOUR masters , 5 ‘I myself have made the earth, mankind and the beasts that are upon the surface of the earth by my great power and by my stretched-out arm; and I have given it to whom it has proved right in my eyes. 6 And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon, my servant; and even the wild beasts of the field I have given him to serve him. 7 And all the nations must serve even him and his son and his grandson until the time even of his own land comes, and many nations and great kings must exploit him as a servant.’
8 "‘"‘And it must occur that the nation and the kingdom that will not serve him, even Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon; and the one that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence I shall turn my attention upon that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘until I shall have finished them off by his hand.’
11 "‘"‘And as for the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him , I will also let it rest upon its ground,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it.’"’"
12 Even to Zed·e·ki´ah the king of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: "Bring YOUR necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living. 13 Why should you yourself and your people die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence according to what Jehovah has spoken to the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? 14 And do not listen to the words of the prophets that are saying to YOU men, ‘YOU will not serve the king of Babylon,’ because falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU.
I stopped with chapter 27, but I think the scriptures speak for themselves. Serve! Serve! Serve! is the main message chapter after chapter.
Rockhound