Jeremiah 1-6

Jeremiah appears to be a young boy when he is called to be a prophet.  He is from the land of Benjamin.  Although at this point "Judah" is virtually synonymous with the remaining southern kingdom, the land of Benjamin remained as well.

Most of what Jeremiah says in the opening chapters appears to be a warning that Jerusalem will be sacked by a foreign army from the north.  Jerusalem had trouble with foreign invaders for a while, but the context and urgency of what Jeremiah says suggests that it will be worse than before.  Something worse and new will happen.  

Jeremiah also focuses on the adultery of Judah.  God feels betrayed by Judah by their worship of other gods.  God (through Jeremiah) points out that Israel did the same and was punished.  Here, Judah did not get the message but is still being adulterous.

A quote from Jeremiah 1:5 is used by the Christian anti-abortion groups.  In short, before he (Jeremiah) was formed in the womb, God knew (or chose) him.  What is left out of anti-abortion bumper stickers is that the verse states that he (Jeremiah) was appointed to be a prophet.  In the context, the statement seems intended to embolden Jeremiah and give him credibility because a key issue is that he is too young to be prophet. 

Jeremiah's fear about being too young would be understandable given that the last major prophet, Isaiah, was high priest at the time of his calling.  Here, we have a young boy priest being called.

But going back to Jeremiah 1:5, what can we draw from that?  If God knew (or chose) Jeremiah before he was born or even "formed in the womb", does God chose other people for their own purposes before they are born or formed? That is implied from the context of other verses.

What is not clear from these passages is what is the line of being "formed in the womb".  Is that conception.  Maybe.  But does it include a pre- conception calling for Jeremiah (and us?).  That is unanswered.

Another interesting question is - what if the people of Judah had gotten the message from Isaiah and had become loyal to God?  In short, what if their loyalty made Jeremiah's prophecy no longer necessary, would Jeremiah had still become a prophet.  I assume so, for all the text says is at his calling as prophet was determined pre-birth, whereas it does not say that his prophecy was already determined at the same time.