Dan 9:3-5 | KingComments | STEP | What Daniel read could have made him very glad. He has read that the seventy years are over and that the restoration is therefore imminent. But there is no joy in Daniel. What he has read leads him to confession. He knows God and knows that God only grants mercy when there is confession of sins. Without that He can do nothing. The direct consequence of what Daniel read is that he turns to God. He does not go with the good news of his discovery to his friends or fellow exiles. Through his fellowship with God he sees the low spiritual state of the people. He sees its true character, and that leads him to confession instead of a cry of joy. Only in that position and in that feeling intercession for others can be done. Those who are spiritual are first when it comes to confession. They feel more than others how much God is dishonored by His people. That makes the prophet an intercessor. Knowledge of the future leads in the first place to intercession, that is to say, to speaking to God for the benefit of the people, and only then can there be spoken to the people on behalf of God. God makes the future known in order to speak to our hearts and not to satisfy our curiosity. Prophetic statements are not about processing sensation, but about an experience according to God’s thoughts. Daniel begins his confession by honoring God in His greatness and awesomeness. He is deeply impressed by that. Anyone who knows God and has a relation with Him will address Him with great respect – and also speak of Him with great respect. That is general. At the same time, this mighty majesty gives the great confidence that He keeps to everything He has said. He does not only say, but He acts as well. He is able to do what He says and has promised. Daniel reminds God, as it were, of His covenant and His faithfulness to it. To this Daniel also connects His mercy. That is God’s side of the covenant. However, there is also the side of human responsibility. The covenant and mercy of God apply to those who love Him and keep His commandments. And there it went completely wrong. That brings Daniel to his poignant confession.

‏ Daniel 9:3-5

Daniel Prays and Confesses

What Daniel read could have made him very glad. He has read that the seventy years are over and that the restoration is therefore imminent. But there is no joy in Daniel. What he has read leads him to confession. He knows God and knows that God only grants mercy when there is confession of sins. Without that He can do nothing.

The direct consequence of what Daniel read is that he turns to God. He does not go with the good news of his discovery to his friends or fellow exiles. Through his fellowship with God he sees the low spiritual state of the people. He sees its true character, and that leads him to confession instead of a cry of joy. Only in that position and in that feeling intercession for others can be done.

Those who are spiritual are first when it comes to confession. They feel more than others how much God is dishonored by His people. That makes the prophet an intercessor. Knowledge of the future leads in the first place to intercession, that is to say, to speaking to God for the benefit of the people, and only then can there be spoken to the people on behalf of God. God makes the future known in order to speak to our hearts and not to satisfy our curiosity. Prophetic statements are not about processing sensation, but about an experience according to God’s thoughts.

Daniel begins his confession by honoring God in His greatness and awesomeness. He is deeply impressed by that. Anyone who knows God and has a relation with Him will address Him with great respect – and also speak of Him with great respect. That is general. At the same time, this mighty majesty gives the great confidence that He keeps to everything He has said. He does not only say, but He acts as well. He is able to do what He says and has promised.

Daniel reminds God, as it were, of His covenant and His faithfulness to it. To this Daniel also connects His mercy. That is God’s side of the covenant. However, there is also the side of human responsibility. The covenant and mercy of God apply to those who love Him and keep His commandments. And there it went completely wrong. That brings Daniel to his poignant confession.

We Have Sinned

Daniel makes himself one with the people in their departure from God and His commandments by speaking of “we”. He confesses the sins of God’s people. It is striking that he expresses himself in all kinds of ways. It is as if his feelings need all these words to get a way out of the enormous burden that weighs on his heart. He does not get rid of it with a quick, meaningless, general “we are sorry”, but he speaks of “committed iniquity”, “acted wickedly” and “rebelled”.

The cause of the misery in which God’s people find themselves is the departure from God’s commandments and ordinances. But not only that. When the people turned aside, God also sent His servants, the prophets, to His people. The wicked state of the people became all the more apparent then. This evil situation was present in all parts of the people, with kings, princes, fathers, yes, all the people of the land. To all is spoken by the prophets in the name of the LORD. But what does Daniel say? “We have not listened.” From the account in 2 Chronicles we know how much the LORD has made an effort to make the people return to Him, but that they have even despised and dishonored His prophets (2Chr 36:15-16).

This confession of the sins of the people by Daniel also has something to tell us. We also have not only personal to do with God, but also as a community. If we call ourselves Christians, we bear the blame for the dishonor that Christians bring to the Name of Christ, after Whose Name we call ourselves. Even if we honor Christ as Lord in our personal lives, we are ashamed and confess our guilt for the injustice that occurred in the Name of Christ. We are to blame with all Christians together.

This also applies to the faith community of which we are a part. There is weakness and unfaithfulness, worldliness, carnality, legalism. There is nothing to boast about, as if we were better Christians if in “our” faith community certain sins do not occur or are removed through discipline. It takes faith and a spiritual mind to come to such a confession. These are only present when there is knowledge of one’s own heart and when there is an awareness of the grace that must always save us. Who can say that he has always listened to God’s voice in His Word?