In this message we will consider 1:4-19. This portion tells us first how Jeremiah was called by God and then how he was commissioned by Him.
In verses 5 through 8 we see Jeremiah's call.
In verse 5c God said to Jeremiah, "I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Literally, the Hebrew word translated appointed here means "given." God gave, appointed, Jeremiah to be a prophet not only to the nation of Israel but to all the nations.
In verse 5a God said to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Realizing the poor situation of Israel in relation to Him, God knew Jeremiah even before He purposely formed him in his mother's womb to be a prophet.
God also said to Jeremiah, "Before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you" (v. 5b). How good it is that before Jeremiah was born he was already sanctified!