Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog

At times when we would read a passage from the Bible at home that was from the book of Jeremiah, I would sing this song.

Jeremiah 37:1-21

Reference:  v.17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?”  “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” (NIV Bible)

Explore:  I’m not sure how I ever learned the words but I used to sing the first verse and chorus of ‘Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog’.  If you are not familiar with this song, here are the lyrics:
Jeremiah was a bullfrog, He was good friend of mine.
I never understood a single word he said But I helped him drink his wine. He always had some mighty fine wine.

Sing it Joy to the world, All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me.   I never knew any Jeremiahs when I was growing up, the only one I had heard of before was the prophet Jeremiah in the Bible.  However, I never knew a great deal about the prophet Jeremiah either because he didn’t tend to come up in the children’s Sunday School class very often.  But at times when we would read a passage from the Bible at home that was from the book of Jeremiah, I would sing this song.  I remember my father saying to me though, “Well actually, Jeremiah wasn’t really one to say ‘joy to the world’.”  With my limited knowledge of scripture I didn’t completely understand, but after reading through Jeremiah I can see where my dad was coming from. Application:  Jeremiah was given a mighty big job from God to speak his words to a rebellious nation.  However, it wasn’t the most ideal promotion!  No one listened to him, they hated what he had to say, and his words always seemed to be of doom and destruction.  There was very little ‘joy’ to what he had to say.  And yet, they were words of truth.  There are times in our life when we are required to speak some difficult words into someone’s life.  Sometimes the hardest task is holding up a mirror to someone’s life and showing them the impact their actions are having – on themselves and on other people.  Bringing up a difficult subject with someone is never easy.  And there are times when they will attack back in an effort to protect themselves.  However, there are times when the best thing we can do is, with love and respect, speak truth. Prayer:  Lord, we all go through times when we have not done the right thing.  May we be humble and patient when it comes our turn to be corrected.  Amen. How do you respond when someone tries to give you guidance or correction?