Sermon - Daniel 9:7-19 - Prayer for Mercy - Littleby Baptist Church - August 9, 2020
Chapter 9 has shown us that Daniel was studying the prophesies given by Jeremiah prior to the exile. He has seen that the time of exile will come to an end, and that time is coming close as the people are in the 69th year of a 70-year exile.
As Daniel studies the prophesies he sees that his people deserved the judgement they received, but he also knows that the prophecy says that God will deliver the people if they turn back to God. Understanding the reality of things, Daniel prayed. He recognized that he was not perfect, and neither are the rest of the people. He understood who God is and that they can count on Him. So, Daniel began his prayer praising God for who He is and pleading with God to hear him, confessing of his sins, and the sins of the people.
Daniel’s prayer is a reminder to trust in the promises of God. Trust that He will always be with us. Trust that through our faith in Jesus, we have received the most amazing gift of all, an eternity in Glory.
Daniel 9:7-8
“7 Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you. 8 Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you.”
Daniel continues his prayer with ‘Lord, righteousness belongs to you.’ God is righteous, He is Holy. If God judges someone it is deserved. Daniel is saying that the people did not listen to God, they did not listen to the prophets, they did not follow the commands given to them, and they deserved everything they received.
God is righteous, but the people were shameful. They shamefully turned their backs on their God who had saved their people and provided for them.
It is probably safe to say that Daniel is faithful to his God, not perfect but faithful. When you read these verses, Daniel is saying that the ‘shame belongs to us’… he is not saying the shame belongs to everyone else… but us… meaning that he is included in it. The shame of the exile belongs to all of Israel.
Daniel 9:9
"9 Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him”
Even though the people of God rebelled, with God being a righteous judge, He is still compassionate and forgiving.
Deuteronomy 4:25-31
“25 “When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, angering him, 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. 29 But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, in the future you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.”
The people were warned. If they turned their back on God, they would be scattered among the nations. Sooner or later they will realize the error of their ways and begin to seek out their God. In His infinite compassion, God will be with them. It says in these verses that God will not leave them, destroy them, or forget the covenant. He will not forget the promise He gave them.
Our God is a righteous God, but He is also a compassionate and forgiving God.
We see that in these verses, but we see also see it throughout Scripture. Our sin separates us from our God, but out of His compassion, His love for us, He has provided a path to forgiveness.
Daniel 9:10-11
“10 and have not obeyed the Lord our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has broken your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. The promised curse written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against him.”
Daniel is laying everything on the table. He is not making excuses for the people, he is not trying to say the fault belongs to those guys, but not these guys. The people as a whole turned their back on God, and they refused to follow the Law and listen to the prophets. They were justly punished.
Daniel 9:12
“12 He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.”
A seventy-year exile with the people being scattered all around was a judgement like no other. The temple artifacts being taken by Nebuchadnezzar was a huge slap in the face. If that was not bad enough the last time the Ark of the Covenant was seen was when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. There are rumors that it is in hidden in Ethiopia still today, but when Daniel prayed these words the Ark was lost.
What happened to Jerusalem and the people of Israel was severe, it was nothing like anything that had been done before.
Daniel 9:13
“13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.”
Daniel is saying, ‘we have been warned’ about the consequences of their actions, sadly judgement has not changed how people act. Daniel has faithfully served his God, but the people as a whole have not turned from their wicked ways, they have not sought forgiveness and compassion from their God. The punishment hit 69-years ago, but the people are still are wallowing in the mud.
Daniel 9:14
“14 So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all he has done. But we have not obeyed him.”
God is watching… He knows when we are honoring Him, and He knows when He is not our focus.
Daniel was counting on what is found in the words of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 31:28
“28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I watch over them to build and to plant them”—this is the Lord’s declaration.”
God watched over the people in their sin to uproot them, but He also watches over them to build them up. As we are seeing in these verses our God is a Holy God, He will hold true to His word. He will let us deal with the consequences of our sin, but He will also be watching for us to turn our eyes on Him, to repent of our sins, and then He will lift us up.
Our God is not content to leave us in the mud.
Daniel 9:15
“15 Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and made Your name renowned as it is this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.”
Daniel begins to plead with his God, to remember what He did for the people. He is crying out, confessing their sins, admitting that they have turned their back on God.
Daniel 9:16
“16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.”
In his prayer, Daniel is saying that the punishment has been severe and is asking God to remove His anger and wrath from the people. He is asking God to allow the judgement to come to an end.
Daniel 9:17-18
“17 Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake. 18 Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion.”
Daniel is pleading with God and interceding for all of the people. He is asking for the Lord to show them favor, to grant them mercy, and to forgive them for what they have done.
Deuteronomy 30:1-3
“30 “When all these things happen to you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul by doing everything I am commanding you today, 3 then he will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.”
God promised that when the people would turn back to God and obey Him with all of their heart and soul, that He would have compassion and restore them.
A righteous God will honor His word to judge and to restore. As Daniel says in his prayer in verse 18, it is dependent on the Lord’s compassion and not on what the people do. People cannot earn it, it has everything to do with our God being a compassionate and forgiving God.
Daniel 9:19
“19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.”
Daniel is pleading with God to act, to not delay, to not let the 70-year exile turn into 71-years.
Daniel’s prayer was sincere. His intercession for his people was in hope that they would repent of their sins and turn to God. His hope was that God would forgive them and restore them to their land once and for all.
In the coming verses Daniel receives a visitor and the prayer transitions into a prophesy.
Daniel’s prayer is reminder that we need to repent and turn to our God.
Acts 3:19
“19 Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,”
Repent and your sins will be wiped away.
Through our Lord Jesus and His sacrifice, when we repent of our sins and choose to follow Him we are forgiven. The ultimate gift of mercy, the unmeasurable compassion, leads to an eternal life in Glory.
It starts in our hearts. Are we holding onto the world or are we turning fully to God? Let go of your Sin and seek God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and He will set you free.
God Bless,
Robert
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