Jeremiah, Week 21: Called To Be Different

Devotional

Day 1: Called to Be Different: Obedience Even When It Costs

Jeremiah was called by God to live a life that set him apart from everyone else in his society—remaining single, refraining from mourning with others, and not participating in celebrations. This was not just a temporary command, but a lifelong calling that made Jeremiah a social outcast and the subject of much curiosity and criticism. His obedience required great personal sacrifice, but it was a powerful visual message to the people of Judah about the seriousness of God’s call and the cost of following Him. Sometimes, God asks His people to do things that seem strange or difficult, but He uses their obedience as a testimony to others and as a way to fulfill His greater purposes. Are you willing to follow God’s call, even if it means standing out or being misunderstood? [07:40]

Jeremiah 16:1-2 (NKJV)
The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.”

Reflection: What is one area of your life where God may be calling you to stand out or make a sacrifice for Him, even if it means being misunderstood by others? How can you take a step of obedience today?

Day 2: The Consequences of Rejecting God

Jeremiah’s life was a living illustration of the judgment that was coming upon Judah because of their persistent sin and idolatry. God explained that the reason for Jeremiah’s unusual lifestyle was to symbolize the pain, loss, and separation that the people would soon experience: families torn apart, the loss of God’s peace and lovingkindness, and the end of joy and gladness in the land. Their refusal to repent and their generational rejection of God brought about devastating consequences, including exile and the withdrawal of God’s presence. This serves as a sobering reminder that turning away from God leads to brokenness, loss, and spiritual emptiness. [21:20]

Jeremiah 16:3-9 (NKJV)
“For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: ‘They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,’ says the Lord, ‘lovingkindness and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.’ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.’”

Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you have been ignoring God’s voice or justifying sin? What would it look like to turn back to Him today before the consequences grow deeper?

Day 3: God’s Patience and the Call to Repentance

Despite generations of disobedience, God was patient with His people, giving them opportunity after opportunity to repent. Yet, there comes a time when God’s patience runs out, and judgment follows persistent rebellion. The people of Judah were spiritually blind to their own sin, asking, “What have we done?” even as they continued to follow their own evil hearts. God’s call to repentance is an act of mercy, and He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. Today, God still calls us to examine our hearts, turn from our sin, and return to Him before it is too late. [26:52]

Jeremiah 16:10-13 (NKJV)
“And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’”

Reflection: What is one specific way you can respond to God’s call to repentance today, whether it’s confessing a hidden sin, seeking forgiveness, or changing a pattern in your life?

Day 4: Hope and Restoration for the Repentant

Even in the midst of judgment, God promises hope and restoration for those who turn back to Him. He assures His people that after the exile, He will gather them from all the places they have been scattered and bring them back to their land. God’s grace is greater than our failures, and He delights in restoring those who acknowledge their sin and seek Him. This hope is not just for the people of Judah, but for all who will turn to God—He knows where you are, He has not forgotten you, and He is ready to bring you back into relationship with Himself. [38:15]

Jeremiah 16:14-16 (NKJV)
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill and out of the holes of the rocks.”

Reflection: Where in your life do you need to trust God’s promise of restoration? How can you take a step today to return to Him and embrace the hope He offers?

Day 5: God’s Call to Holiness and Mission

God called Jeremiah to be different, and He calls His people today to be holy and set apart for His purposes. This may mean stepping out of your comfort zone, making sacrifices, or even being seen as “weird” by the world. But holiness is not a burden—it is the path to true joy, fulfillment, and contentment. God’s call is not just for a select few; He calls every believer to live on mission, to share the gospel, and to be willing to do whatever He asks for the sake of others coming to know Him. Will you embrace the cost of following Jesus and let your life be a testimony to His grace? [45:29]

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV)
“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

Reflection: What is one practical way you can live out God’s call to holiness and mission this week, even if it means stepping outside your comfort zone or facing misunderstanding?

Sermon Summary

In the book of Jeremiah, God calls his prophet to a life that is radically different from those around him. Jeremiah is commanded not to marry, not to have children, and to abstain from both mourning and celebrating with his community. In a culture where marriage and participation in social rituals were not just expected but seen as essential, Jeremiah’s obedience would have made him a social outcast, a loner, and the subject of much curiosity and criticism. Yet, this was not a random or cruel command from God. Instead, Jeremiah’s life was to serve as a living visual—a prophetic symbol—of the judgment that was about to fall on Judah because of their persistent sin and idolatry.

God’s instructions to Jeremiah were deeply countercultural. Remaining single in a society that had no word for “bachelor” was shocking. Being absent from funerals and feasts further isolated him. But each of these commands was meant to embody a spiritual reality: the coming devastation would tear families apart, remove the possibility of normal mourning, and strip away all joy and gladness from the land. Jeremiah’s isolation mirrored the spiritual and relational exile that awaited Judah. His life was a warning, a living parable of what happens when a people persistently reject God’s covenant, ignore his lovingkindness, and follow the dictates of their own hearts.

Yet, even in the midst of this sobering message, God’s heart of mercy shines through. After judgment and exile, God promises restoration. He assures his people that he will not forget them, that he will gather them back from the lands where they have been scattered. This restoration is not just for Israel, but for the nations—the Gentiles—who will one day recognize the emptiness of their idols and turn to the one true God. The story of Jeremiah is ultimately a story of hope: God disciplines, but he also redeems. He calls his people to repentance, and when they turn, he restores them to joy, relationship, and purpose.

This calling to be different is not just for Jeremiah, but for all who follow God. Holiness will often set us apart, sometimes in ways that seem strange or costly. But the cost of obedience is always worth it, for it leads to deeper fellowship with God and the privilege of being part of his redemptive work in the world.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience to God may require radical separation from cultural norms, even when it leads to misunderstanding or loneliness. Jeremiah’s willingness to live as an outsider was a powerful testimony to the seriousness of Judah’s sin and the reality of coming judgment. Sometimes, God calls us to stand out in ways that challenge our comfort and reputation, reminding us that faithfulness is measured by obedience, not popularity. [04:32]
2. God often uses the lives of his servants as living parables, embodying spiritual truths that words alone cannot convey. Jeremiah’s isolation was not just for his own sake, but to visually communicate the consequences of rejecting God—broken relationships, loss of comfort, and the absence of joy. Our lives, too, can become a canvas for God’s message when we surrender to his purposes, even when we do not fully understand them. [17:00]
3. Persistent sin and spiritual blindness can harden hearts to the point where even obvious warnings go unheeded. The people of Judah were so entrenched in their ways that they could not see the connection between their actions and God’s discipline. This serves as a sobering reminder to regularly examine our own hearts, lest we become desensitized to the Spirit’s conviction and miss the opportunity for repentance. [24:37]
4. God’s discipline is never the end of the story; his ultimate desire is restoration and redemption. Even as he announces judgment, God promises to gather his people back, to restore joy, and to make his name known among all nations. The hope of restoration is rooted in God’s unchanging character—his faithfulness, mercy, and power to redeem even the most broken situations. [35:20]
5. The call to be different is not a burden, but a privilege that aligns us with God’s heart and mission. Holiness may set us apart in uncomfortable ways, but it also positions us to experience God’s joy and to participate in his work of salvation. The cost of obedience is real, but it pales in comparison to the cost Christ paid for our redemption and the eternal impact of a life surrendered to God’s purposes. [45:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - What If God Calls You to Be Different?
[01:55] - Prophets as God’s Living Symbols
[03:46] - Jeremiah’s Unusual Calling: Singleness
[05:44] - The Social Cost of Obedience
[08:15] - Exclusion from Mourning and Celebration
[10:51] - Jeremiah: The Community Loner
[14:26] - Why Did God Command This?
[17:00] - Jeremiah as a Visual of Coming Judgment
[20:04] - The Withdrawal of God’s Presence
[22:04] - The Loss of Joy and Gladness
[24:04] - The People’s Spiritual Blindness
[29:47] - The Consequences of Rejection
[33:32] - Hope Beyond Judgment
[35:20] - God’s Promise of Restoration
[39:27] - The Nations Will Come to God
[42:15] - A Picture of Eternal Separation
[45:29] - The Cost and Privilege of Being Different
[46:47] - Responding to God’s Call Today

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Jeremiah 16:1-21 (NKJV) — 1 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying,
2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.”
3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:
4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the Lord: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies.
6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.
8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
...
(For the sake of time, read the full chapter in your Bibles or as a group.)

Observation Questions

What specific commands did God give Jeremiah regarding his personal life and social participation? ([04:32])
According to the passage, what reasons does God give for commanding Jeremiah not to marry or participate in mourning and feasting? ([15:04])
How did Jeremiah’s lifestyle set him apart from the rest of his community? What were some of the social consequences he faced? ([07:35])
What promise does God make to His people after the announcement of judgment and exile? ([35:20])

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God chose to use Jeremiah’s life as a visual symbol rather than just giving a verbal warning to the people? What impact might this have had on those who saw him? ([17:00])
The people of Judah seemed blind to their own sin, even when confronted. What factors might contribute to spiritual blindness or hard-heartedness in a community or individual? ([24:37])
God’s withdrawal of peace, lovingkindness, and mercy is described as a consequence of persistent sin. What does this reveal about the seriousness of breaking covenant with God? ([20:04])
The promise of restoration includes not just Israel, but the nations (Gentiles). What does this suggest about God’s ultimate plan for redemption? ([39:27])

Application Questions

Jeremiah’s obedience made him a social outcast and the subject of criticism. Have you ever felt pressure to conform to cultural or family expectations that conflicted with your faith? How did you respond, or how do you wish you had responded? ([07:35])
God sometimes calls His people to stand out in ways that are uncomfortable or misunderstood. Is there an area in your life right now where you sense God asking you to be “different” for His sake? What would it look like to obey? ([45:29])
Jeremiah’s life was a living parable, communicating God’s message through action. Are there ways your life could visually communicate God’s truth to those around you, even without words? What might that look like in your context? ([17:00])
The people of Judah were spiritually blind to their sin. What practices can help you regularly examine your own heart and stay sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction? ([24:37])
God’s discipline is always aimed at restoration, not just punishment. Can you recall a time when God’s correction in your life led to growth or a deeper relationship with Him? How did you experience His mercy in that process? ([35:20])
The call to holiness is described as both a cost and a privilege. What “costs” have you experienced or do you fear experiencing because of following Jesus? How does remembering Christ’s sacrifice help you put those costs in perspective? ([45:29])
The sermon ended with practical examples of radical obedience (like moving, changing jobs, or sharing your faith). What is one specific step of obedience you feel God prompting you to take, even if it feels uncomfortable or costly? ([46:47])

Sermon Clips

it shall be when you show this people all these words and they say to you. So, when you explain this to these people and they ask back to you this, why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? So, the visual worked. They saw Jeremiah's life. They said, Jeremiah, what are you doing all of this for? Gave Jeremiah an opportunity to explain to them, listen, here's why I'm doing this because these are the things that are going to come upon you if you don't repent because of your sin and your idolatry and all of that. And they said, but Jeremiah, what have we done? Why is all this coming upon us? Now, I want you to think about that for a minute, friends. That's almost comical for them to ask that question. Spiritual blindness of their questions is astonishing, but somehow they were oblivious to their sin. It gives testimony, friends, to the Israelites, the Judahites, incredible hard -heartedness. Or maybe it just indicates that they didn't see that what they were doing was a problem. [00:23:53] (72 seconds)

The visual worked. They saw Jeremiah's life. They said, Jeremiah, what are you doing all of this for? Gave Jeremiah an opportunity to explain to them, listen, here's why I'm doing this because these are the things that are going to come upon you if you don't repent because of your sin and your idolatry and all of that. [00:24:16] (18 seconds) #GodKnowsAndWillRescue

But here's the thing about patience and long suffering. Eventually God's patience runs out. We don't like to think of that part of it, do we? I mean, yes, he is. Absolutely. He's so loving that he gives you and me sinners that are terrible. An opportunity to repent and for our sins to be covered under the blood of Christ. Amen. That's wonderful. And he's withholding his judgment on the world today. Listen, the world sure deserves immediate judgment. Amen. Just as we do. Okay. But God's withholding that. But the thing, the same thing is true about the Israelites of Jeremiah's day as is true about today, that ultimately God's patience runs out. [00:26:33] (46 seconds) #FromExileToEternalWorship

But friends, before we can have hope, before we can see the light, before we can learn our lesson, we must come to our senses. Amen? And the way that often takes is through discipline, some kind of discipline in our life, through some kind of judgment in our life. Judgment and discipline must awaken us before restoration and redemption can take place and hope can follow. [00:33:15] (26 seconds) #GodDesiresRepentance

God's intent here, friends, is to assure them and reassure them that if they will turn back to him, then he will restore them to the land and a relationship with him and that they can have the future that he intended for them. [00:36:06] (16 seconds) #SalvationThroughChristAlone

But God says here, listen, I have not forgotten you. I know exactly where you are. I know exactly what you've done and I know exactly how to come get you. And so God here, I believe is giving them comfort that he knows where they are and he's going to come get them. And if they'll turn from their sin, they'll acknowledge that and come back to him and acknowledge him as their, their God. Then he will bring them back to land, which is exactly what he ended up doing. [00:37:56] (28 seconds) #CalledToBeDifferent

I want you to, if you think about that, friends, that is not just a picture of what judgment and exile for Judah was to look like. It is really a picture of what eternity without God will look like. Many people want to say, you know what? I don't mind going to hell. I'm going to go to hell. Me and my buddies, we're going to party for eternity. Hell will not be a party with your buddies. It will be everything that we've just described, but it will not be a party. Hell is the worst possible existence imaginable. [00:42:34] (45 seconds)

``The Bible says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's God's desire. God calls us to himself so that we would repent, that we would turn from our sin and that we would trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and our savior. The, the wonderful good news of the gospel is that God has already, provided the way for our sins to be covered and to be forgiven. Amen. It is through his son and through what Christ did on the cross. If we will simply turn from our sin and trust in him, put our faith and trust in him, then we can be saved. [00:43:30] (42 seconds)

If you know the Lord, you know, God called Jeremiah to be different. He called Jeremiah to be very different than anybody else in society. Friends, I believe God has called us to be different. He's called us to be holy. Amen. And that holiness should make us different, probably sometimes in a weird kind of way. But here's the thing, friends, being holy for God is not a negative thing. It brings ultimate joy and fulfillment and contentment in everything. Amen. [00:45:16] (39 seconds)

Here's what I want you to remember. It cost Jeremiah greatly to be God's spokesman. Amen. It cost Jesus greatly to atone for your sins. To purchase our salvation. Are you willing to endure the cost, whatever it may be that God calls you to, for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of seeing others come to know Jesus so they can spend eternity in heaven as well? I believe God, I don't believe that's a special calling. I believe that's a calling that God has placed on each and every one of us. [00:47:39] (48 seconds)

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