Friday | 14 August 2026

A prophet to the Gentiles

The Lord said to Jeremiah, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’ Jer 1:5. Jeremiah received his identity as the outcome of procreation. However, before his spirit was formed in the womb of his mother, Jeremiah’s name and the works of his sonship were discussed by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When the Word of the Lord came speaking to Jeremiah, he was being called to meet his name from before the foundation of the world.

Jeremiah lived during the dispensation of the Old Covenant. Unlike a child who has believing parents in the New Covenant, Jeremiah was not born of God in the womb of his mother. However, he was sanctified, or set apart, as a child who belonged to the Lord. Specifically, he was set apart to be a prophet to the nations. In a similar way, the apostle Paul testified that he had been set apart from his mother’s womb to be an apostle to the nations. He said, ‘It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.’ Gal 1:15-16.  

Jeremiah was born into a priestly family in the land of Benjamin. Jer 1:1. It is important to appreciate that Jeremiah was more than a prophet to the nation of Israel. He was called to be a prophet to the Gentiles. Even though the focus of Jeremiah’s ministry was toward the southern kingdom of Judah before, and during, the Babylonian exile, his prophetic mandate was to all the Gentile nations. He was the forerunner to the apostle Paul. Paul came from the tribe of Benjamin and was called by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles.