He saw a boiling pot tilted away from the north. God said to Jeremiah, “Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah.” (NRSV, Jeremiah 1:14–15)

God did not speak to Jeremiah of only generalities. God said, “I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the LORD, even for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an object of horror and of hissing, and an everlasting disgrace.” God continued, “And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (NRSV, Jeremiah 25:8–9, 11) This referred to the impending Babylonian captivity. It happened just as God said it would.