Dan 9:16 | KingComments | STEP | After his confession Daniel calls upon the “Lord our God” as the One Who once redeemed his people and thereby “made a name” for Himself. He also speaks to God about “Your people”. God does not yet see it this way, for the people are not yet His people. But faith speaks in all circumstances in this way about God’s people. The name “Lord” is the translation of the Hebrew Adonai , that is the Ruler, the Commander, while “LORD” is the translation of Yahweh , that is the God of the covenant with His people. Daniel now addresses the Lord as the sovereign God Who has acted in the past for the benefit of His people. At the same time he says to Him that “this day” He still bears the Name He made then. So he begs the Lord first to think back to His redeeming work He did before by saving His people from slavery. Then he calls upon Him to live up to that Name once more and now because they have sinned and acted wickedly. The Name of God is magnified in a glorious way when He shows grace, for He proves grace by virtue of His righteousness. Because the Lord Jesus has fulfilled all God’s righteous demands, God can prove grace to the repentant sinner. With this, He has made a Name forever. When people ‘make a name’, it’s because of a certain achievement. But there are always imperfections to this achievement. God has made a Name through a redemption that is perfect and that remains forever. After his confession “we have sinned, we have been wicked”, Daniel pleads with “the Lord” to turn away His anger and His wrath from Jerusalem. He speaks to the Lord about Jerusalem as “Your city” and “Your holy mountain”. He sees and acknowledges in faith that the Lord is the Owner of it and not the nations, although the city is given by God into the hands of the nations. He also identifies the city and the mountain on which the city lies, that is Mount Zion, with each other. It is a “holy mountain”. It is the mountain on which Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac long ago. This speaks of the sacrifice God the Father brought by giving His Son. Because of that sacrifice there could be a temple in which God could dwell. So it is with the church in which God now dwells and which is also called a temple ( ; ). For faith, the church is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, no matter how much the church has in practice become a place where people who do not have the Spirit regulate the service. It strikes Daniel deeply that God’s city and God’s people have become a reproach to all around them. How is it with us? Do we also go through everything that the church and the living together of God’s children have become a reproach to the world around us? What my brother and friend John Bax experienced when he told the gospel to someone, illustrates it painfully clearly. In a report of this illustration, he writes the following: An older man came to me when I shouted loudly: “Be reconciled to God” and John 3:16 “God so loved the world” etc. We had a conversation about the Bible. He had a lot of criticism and commentary and ‘why-questions’. He did not understand that if there is a mighty God, He does not intervene because of all the evil in this world. When I said: “And if God should intervene one time because of all the evil in your own life?”, he was no longer so open and complained about the Christians, what they have done about it. He said, “How many churches are not empty today? What kind of happy message is brought when people run away? How many schisms have there been in history in which you cannot agree together? Just look at all the different churches and denominations that are nowadays. In your churches you have great conflicts about faith. If you had something precious together, you should certainly show what keeps you together.” I told him: “If I have to look at man and at Christianity, I must unfortunately agree with you. What we have made of it is shameful. But I want to tell you about the Person of the Lord Jesus Who died in my place for all my sins. And for everyone who believes in Him. I wanted to explain the gospel to him further, but he walked away. After that I was a little distressed by this conversation, and sad, because the world is indeed watching us and seeing how we deal with each other. And also that this is put forward as a reason to reject the precious gospel. I was reminded of the Bible verse: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” ( ). [End of quotation.] I think I don’t need to add something to this. Let us take it to heart and beg God to forgive us in His grace and give us another opportunity to be the church according to His thoughts. He desires to have a dwelling place on earth. That is where His own come together and dwell together in subjection to His Word and guided by His Spirit. The Lord Jesus said: “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” ( ). God dwells where He can be God, that is, where He is recognized in His rights as God. We can still ask for and search for that place. If we use His Word as a guide and follow the instructions of the Spirit, He will certainly lead us there.

‏ Daniel 9:16

Confession and Request

After his confession Daniel calls upon the “Lord our God” as the One Who once redeemed his people and thereby “made a name” for Himself. He also speaks to God about “Your people”. God does not yet see it this way, for the people are not yet His people. But faith speaks in all circumstances in this way about God’s people. The name “Lord” is the translation of the Hebrew Adonai, that is the Ruler, the Commander, while “LORD” is the translation of Yahweh, that is the God of the covenant with His people. Daniel now addresses the Lord as the sovereign God Who has acted in the past for the benefit of His people.

At the same time he says to Him that “this day” He still bears the Name He made then. So he begs the Lord first to think back to His redeeming work He did before by saving His people from slavery. Then he calls upon Him to live up to that Name once more and now because they have sinned and acted wickedly.

The Name of God is magnified in a glorious way when He shows grace, for He proves grace by virtue of His righteousness. Because the Lord Jesus has fulfilled all God’s righteous demands, God can prove grace to the repentant sinner. With this, He has made a Name forever. When people ‘make a name’, it’s because of a certain achievement. But there are always imperfections to this achievement. God has made a Name through a redemption that is perfect and that remains forever.

After his confession “we have sinned, we have been wicked”, Daniel pleads with “the Lord” to turn away His anger and His wrath from Jerusalem. He speaks to the Lord about Jerusalem as “Your city” and “Your holy mountain”. He sees and acknowledges in faith that the Lord is the Owner of it and not the nations, although the city is given by God into the hands of the nations.

He also identifies the city and the mountain on which the city lies, that is Mount Zion, with each other. It is a “holy mountain”. It is the mountain on which Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac long ago. This speaks of the sacrifice God the Father brought by giving His Son. Because of that sacrifice there could be a temple in which God could dwell. So it is with the church in which God now dwells and which is also called a temple (1Cor 3:16; Eph 2:22). For faith, the church is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, no matter how much the church has in practice become a place where people who do not have the Spirit regulate the service.

It strikes Daniel deeply that God’s city and God’s people have become a reproach to all around them. How is it with us? Do we also go through everything that the church and the living together of God’s children have become a reproach to the world around us? What my brother and friend John Bax experienced when he told the gospel to someone, illustrates it painfully clearly. In a report of this illustration, he writes the following:

An older man came to me when I shouted loudly: “Be reconciled to God” and John 3:16 “God so loved the world” etc. We had a conversation about the Bible. He had a lot of criticism and commentary and ‘why-questions’. He did not understand that if there is a mighty God, He does not intervene because of all the evil in this world. When I said: “And if God should intervene one time because of all the evil in your own life?”, he was no longer so open and complained about the Christians, what they have done about it. He said, “How many churches are not empty today? What kind of happy message is brought when people run away? How many schisms have there been in history in which you cannot agree together? Just look at all the different churches and denominations that are nowadays. In your churches you have great conflicts about faith. If you had something precious together, you should certainly show what keeps you together.”

I told him: “If I have to look at man and at Christianity, I must unfortunately agree with you. What we have made of it is shameful. But I want to tell you about the Person of the Lord Jesus Who died in my place for all my sins. And for everyone who believes in Him. I wanted to explain the gospel to him further, but he walked away. After that I was a little distressed by this conversation, and sad, because the world is indeed watching us and seeing how we deal with each other. And also that this is put forward as a reason to reject the precious gospel. I was reminded of the Bible verse: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). [End of quotation.]

I think I don’t need to add something to this. Let us take it to heart and beg God to forgive us in His grace and give us another opportunity to be the church according to His thoughts. He desires to have a dwelling place on earth. That is where His own come together and dwell together in subjection to His Word and guided by His Spirit.

The Lord Jesus said: “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Mt 18:20). God dwells where He can be God, that is, where He is recognized in His rights as God. We can still ask for and search for that place. If we use His Word as a guide and follow the instructions of the Spirit, He will certainly lead us there.