There are two big ideas critical to understanding the Old Testament: the Exodus and the Exile. Like bookends, these two events frame the experience of God's people.
The Exodus is regarded as the birth of the nation. After gestating in Egypt under the bonds of slavery, the descendants of Jacob (Israel the ancestor) grew to be a multitude, strong enough to survive on their own. Passing through the waters of the Red Sea, they witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh's military might of horses and chariots. The Hebrews became God's people at Mount Sinai when they received the covenant. The next generation conquered and settled the Promised Land, and the story of Israel the nation began.
The Exile is regarded as the (near) death of the nation. After generations of transgressions against the covenant and after the northern kingdom of Israel's disappearance, Judah's time for punishment was finally at hand. Prophets had been warning the people and the priests and the kings for years to no avail. Now God used the army of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebuchadrezzar here in Jeremiah) to smash the walls of Jerusalem and cart her citizens away as prisoners to a distant land. The Promised Land was lost.
The grief and mourning of the Exile was to stay with the Jewish people for a long time. The maintaining of their identity and the recovery of their land is nothing short of miraculous. God was not yet done with His people, but He brought them through an extremely traumatic time during which they lost everything.
The Book of Jeremiah, otherwise so depressing, ends on a marginally hopeful note. King Jehoiachin, after nearly 38 years of imprisonment in exile, is released and shown favor by the new king (vs. 31). A turn of fortune is in the air, and Israel begins her upward trek once again.
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