Sun.’s Devo - God is Near

Read: Jeremiah 37:11 - 38:14; Ezekiel 1, 2
In reading today’s reading it is not hard to see that King Zedekiah was fickle. He turned with whoever was in front of him. When he was with Jeremiah, he was loyal to him but as soon as one of his officials had a problem with Jeremiah, he let them do what they saw fit. He did make sure Jeremiah had bread and he did let the Ethiopian deliver him out of the cistern. But he also let the man put him there. Jeremiah held to God’s Word. When the king asked him what was going to happen to Jerusalem, he told him the truth even though he knew it was not what the king wanted to hear. Jeremiah defended God’s Word with his life and God saved his. The truth was that the Babylonians would take Jerusalem and if the king would surrender to them then things would go good for him and Jerusalem would be spared destruction. If he did not, then he would be killed, his wives and children led to captivity and Jerusalem would be burned to the ground.
During this time Ezekiel had a vision of heaven. He saw the four creatures mentioned in the fourth chapter of Revelation. These creatures were the embodiment of God’s Spirit - the four faces of Jesus, the four faces of God. These faces were of a human, an lion, an ox, and an eagle. These creatures had wings and wheels by which they flew illumined in brilliant light. Ezekiel’s vision left him overwhelmed in silence for seven days.
This is a reminder to me that when everything looks terribly bleak, God is hovering over earth watching over everything that is going on. He is always near.
Lord, thank you for your presence in our lives and in our nation. We need your nearness and your assurance that everything will be as you plan. Thank you that You are not fickle; you know exactly what you are doing and it is good. We trust in You.