The description of exile in the curses section of Parshat Bechukotai emphasizes the desolation of the land of Israel. We can understand that the desolation of the land is part of the punishment for the nation, but possibly also contains within it a promise to the nation - that the Land of Israel is destined specifically for them. Additionally, there seems to be a strong correlation between the desolation of the land during the years of exile and the laws of the Shmitta year. 

Courtesy of the Virtual Beit Midrash, Yeshivat Har Etzion