1-4  The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: For twenty-three years - from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day - the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5-6 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

7-11 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.” Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon  all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve  the king of Babylon seventy years.

12-14 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” Jeremiah 25:1-14 New International Version

In the book of Deuteronomy the Israelites were given a ceremony in which representatives of the the twelve tribes stood upon two mountains to announce the wonderful blessings the nation would experience if they remained faithful to God and obeyed His word, or, the terrible results that would follow if they turned their back on God and chose evil. Now, over 600 years later, Jeremiah tells them that what God had warned them of was about to happen. For how long had Jeremiah himself warned the people of what their disobedience would lead to? (vs 1-4)

Twenty-three years is almost a quarter of a century! And vs 5-6 tell us that there were other true prophets who had been telling the people the same thing. So they had absolutely no excuse for the terrible judgement that was now at their front door. Who would be the instrument in God's hand for bringing His judgement on Israel, and for how long was it destined to last? (vs 7-11)

The Babylonian armies of King Nebuchadnezzar were more than likely just as cruel as invaders we've read about in later history, such as the hordes who plundered Europe and the Vikings who plundered England. But were they any better people than what the Israelites were? (12-14)

Obviously not. God was using them as a rod of discipline to correct wayward Israel, but the idol worshipping Babylonians would themselves eventually be judged by God. God said of them “I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” But that is something that is true of every living being. That's why the prophets, and the apostles later, called on men and women to repent of sin and to seek God's mercy before it is too late. If anyone should come across this post who has not called on Jesus Christ to save you, may I ask how many years it has been that you have heard that there is a judgement to come? Twenty-three? Even more? Will you not turn to God today. His judgement might be at your front door even now.