When I was a young student I remember reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
at the beginning of every school day: “I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the
United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation,
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Our allegiance is to
the stars and stripes, not the flag of the United Nations. Our government and
its leaders have become corrupt. They have stopped seeing their calling as one
of serving the people and see their political positions as opportunities to
enrich themselves. It doesn’t matter much which party is in power; they
prioritize self instead of their constituencies.
Around Long Island where I live there are sumps. Sumps are holes in the
ground designed for draining off rain water so as to avoid flooding. I have one
of these sumps up the block from where I live. Last summer the sump by me became
so overgrown with weeds and other plant life that it had to be cleaned out if
it was to operate properly. The sump needed to be cleaned. One of the candidates
running for president has said something similar regarding Washington and
government. He says, “It’s time to drain the swamp!” Our government leaders are
aptly described as a swamp or a sump. They need cleaning. I hope and pray God
would do it
If the swamp or sump is to be cleaned, it will take a move of God’s
Spirit. That’s what this teaching is all about; seeking God in His word and
prayer and asking for His mercy and to heal our Land. The book of Daniel and
the story of Daniel and the historical context of Israel’s captivity has many
parallels to our present day circumstances.
The context of Daniel chapter 9 is God’s people are in Babylonian
captivity. The year is approximately 539 B.C., the same year that Babylon fell
to the Medo-Persian Empire, and which is implied by the phrase, “In the first
year of Darius,” (Daniel 9:1). Daniel is in his late eighties to nineties in
age, but he is still receiving words from the Lord. He is in his nineties, but
he is still a student of God’s word. He is in his nineties, but he is also
still a man of prayer.
Daniel 9 contains one of the most incredible prophetic
messages in the entire Bible. And it comes as an answer to the heartfelt prayer
of Daniel on behalf of God’s people and
Israel.
God loves it when we seek Him. In fact when Gabriel spoke to
Daniel he said:
- Daniel
9:23 - “At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I
have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved;
therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:” (Emphasis
added.)
God loves us and He loves to have prayerful conversation
with us. Did you know you are loved by God? You are His “beloved.” What does
the Bible say about being loved by God?
BELOVED BY GOD
The phrase, “greatly beloved,” is found not only in Daniel
9:23, but is used two other times in reference to Daniel in this book (Daniel
10:11, 19). The term “beloved” in this verse is a translation of the Hebrew
term CHEMDAH (pronounced KHEM-DAW. CHEMDAH (Strong’s #2532) means
literally, “pleasant, desire, desirable, beloved, goodly, and precious.” [1] Attach “greatly” to the front of this word
and what you have in this verse is one who is greatly pleasing to God,
very desirable to God, very precious to God. Daniel was known in heaven
by Gabriel as one who greatly pleased God, was very desirable to God and was
very precious to God.
God loves all the people of His creation. We see this in
numerous verses throughout the Bible, of which the following are a small
sampling:
- Jeremiah
31:3 – “The Lord has appeared
of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting
love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
- John
3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.”
- Romans
1:7 – “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be
saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.”
- Romans
5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- 2
Thessalonians 2:13-17 – “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for
you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose
you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the
truth,14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold
the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.16
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has
loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by
grace,17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and
work.”
- 1
John 3:1 – “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that
we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us,
because it did not know Him.”
- 1
John 4:7-16 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.8 He who does not love
does not know God, for God is love.9 In this the love of God was
manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through Him.10 In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one
another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.13 By
this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us
of His Spirit.14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the
Son as Savior of the world.15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the
Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.16 And we have known and
believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in
love abides in God, and God in him.”
INTIMACY WITH GOD
Oftentimes we see God as cold, distant, far removed from
us, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible tells us that God is
loving and wants to share an intimate and personal relationship with us. We see
this truth throughout the Bible.
In the book of Genesis we see that God establishes a
friendship with Abraham (Genesis 18:18-19; 2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23).
Friendship involves intimacy, sharing, caring, sacrificing, and trusting,
between friends. Later in the Bible it states that God “set His love” on the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel):
- Deuteronomy
7:7-8 - “The Lord did not set
His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any
other people, for you were the least of all peoples;8 “but because the Lord loves you, and because He
would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a
mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
In the Song of Solomon we have a symbolic representation
of God’s love for His people communicated through the poetic interactions between
Solomon and his Shulamite bride. IN this book we find the term “beloved” used
46 times in the 8 chapters of the book. Read some of the verses which depict
God’s desired loving intimacy with us:
- Song
of Solomon 2:4 – “He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner
over me was love.”
- Song
of Solomon 2:16 – “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” (See
also 6:3; 7:10)
- Song
of Solomon 8:6-7 – “Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your
arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as
cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement
flame.7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a
man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly
despised.”
In the New Testament we see the intimacy of God through
His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus was very personable and intimate with those around
Him. Jesus wasn’t distant and cold. He was touchable and was One who touched
others (e.g. Matthew 8:3, 15; 9:20-22, 29-30; 14:35-36; 20:34). The true test
of Jesus’ approachability is seen in the closeness He had with children. The
children came to Jesus and you can just picture them crawling all over Jesus
(Mark 10:13-16). Children don’t run into the arms of a person with a cold and
distant personality. Children run into the arms of One who is warm, friendly
and who enjoys their company, closeness and friendship.
Some need more coaxing than others to come into the
intimate presence of God. Do you remember Thomas? Thomas wouldn’t believe that
Jesus had risen from the dead. He was cold to that fact. But Jesus melted that
cold hard heart by inviting Thomas to touch His wounds (John 20:24-28).
There are many believers who are very doctrinally sound
but cold of heart. They are like porcupines; they have so many points you can’t
get near them. But Jesus specifically calls us to friendship with Him,
friendship with God. That is what He said to His disciples:
- John
15:15 - “No longer do I call you servants, for a
servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to
you.”
God desires a warm, loving intimate friendship with us and
we would be foolish to settle for anything less than that! The Bible calls us
to “draw near” to God:
- Hebrews
10:19-23 – “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by
the blood of Jesus,20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us,
through the veil, that is, His flesh,21 and having a High Priest
over the house of God,22 let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.23 Let us hold fast the confession
of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is
faithful.” (Emphasis added.)
- James
4:8-10 – “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to
mourning and your joy to gloom.10 Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
(Emphasis added.)
How could you turn down an offer like that from the Master
of the universe?! Wouldn’t you rather sense and experience the closeness of
being “greatly beloved” as Daniel did? But in truth, we often miss out on such
intimacy with God. Why? Because we fail to enter into the personal and
intimate relationship God desires to have with us. The problem is with
us. The Bible warns us to draw near sincerely, ready to have God apply what He
teaches us in His word. It does us no good to simply go through the motions of
drawing near. Listen to the words of Jesus who said:
- Matthew
15:7-9 - “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy
about you, saying:8 ‘These people draw
near to Me with their mouth, 1 And honor Me with their lips, But
their heart is far from Me.9 And in
vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of
men.’ ”” [2] (Emphasis added.)
God is not the one cold, distant and removed, we are! We
pay God lip-service but when we draw near we leave our hearts behind. We need
to come to God with our hearts. It is with our hearts that we believe,
God wants our hearts:
- Romans
10:8-10 – “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and
in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):9 that if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.”
How can we enter into such intimacy with God? By drawing
near to God with our hearts. Daniel 9 shows us by way of Daniel’s
example how to seek God with all our heart and enter into experiencing the
“greatly beloved” relationship with God.
The “Greatly Beloved”
Seek God
When you look at the life of Daniel from beginning to end
you see a man who sought the Lord consistently. His “greatly beloved”
relationship with God is what fortified and strengthened him through the years
of turmoil he experienced. There are two ways to seek the Lord and Daniel shows
us both in this chapter.
SEEKING GOD IN HIS WORD
Daniel 9:1-2 – “In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the
Chaldeans—2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books
the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that
He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
Daniel was a student of the word of God. He studied it
consistently and his study yielded great dividends. It was through Daniel’s
study of the book of Jeremiah that he discovered that the duration of the exile
imposed by God on the people was 70 years. Daniel was likely reading the
following verses, which state this:
- Jeremiah
25:11-12 – “‘And this whole land shall be a desolation and an
astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years.12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that
I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the
Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord;
‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.”
If we want to know God we must be into His word. This is
almost too obvious to mention but obvious as it may be, study of God’s word is
often one of the most neglected aspects of believer’s life in God. We need to
study God’s word my friends. There is so much benefit from doing so (e.g. Psalm
19:7-11). Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, conveys this truth:
- Psalm
119:1-2,9-11,18,25,28,41,50,81,92-93,99,105,130,133,160,162 – “Blessed are
the undefiled in the way, 1 Who walk in the law of the Lord!2 Blessed are those who
keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! . . .9 How can a
young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.10 With
my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your
commandments!11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin
against You! . . .18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from
Your law. . . .25 My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your
word. . . 28 My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your
word. . . 41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—Your salvation according to Your word. . . 50 This
is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. .
. 81 My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. . . .92
Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have
perished in my affliction.93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by
them You have given me life. . . .99 I have more understanding than all my
teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. . . .105 Your
word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. . . .130 The
entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the
simple.133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion
over me. . . .160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one
of Your righteous judgments endures forever. . . .162 I rejoice at
Your word As one who finds great treasure.”
Daniel had access to these words. Daniel took them to
heart and sought the Lord in His word. Daniel was into God’s word and God’s
word was into Daniel and that led to Daniel having understanding, stability,
hope and encouragement in his life. But he did not just read it, he obeyed it.
The Bible tells us very clearly that reading the Bible is not enough, we need
to apply it to our lives with God’s help. Jesus said we find intimacy with God
as we keep His word:
- John
14:15,21 - “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
. . .21 “He who has My commandments and
keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My
Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
If you want to experience intimacy, closeness and be
“greatly beloved” then study and apply God’s word. (See also James 1:22-25 and
2 John 6).
Oh the blessing to his heart he must have felt when he
went on to read in Jeremiah that God was not finished with Israel but had a
plan for their lives:
- Jeremiah
29:10-14 – “For thus says the Lord:
After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform
My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.11 For I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.12 Then you will call upon Me and
go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.13 And you will seek Me and
find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.14 I will
be found by you, says the Lord,
and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all
the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the
place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” (Emphasis added.)
It says, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to
Me, and I will listen to you.13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when
you search for Me with all your heart.” Daniel took those words to heart.
Those words inspired in Jeremiah by God telling him that a time would come when
they would call upon God and find Him when they SEARCHED FOR HIM WITH ALL
THEIR HEART! That is exactly what Daniel did. He didn’t just respond to
those words with lip service. Daniel didn’t just say, “Hmmm, yes, I must pray
to God more, I really should,” and then walk away. As soon as the Lord directed
him to the book of Jeremiah, he purposed in his heart to allow God to apply
those words to his heart. So he sought God in prayer.
SEEKING GOD IN PRAYER
Daniel 9:3 – “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to
make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.”
As soon as Daniel learned that the captivity was for 70
years, (which was nearly completed) and that God promised to be found by those who
seek Him with all their hearts, Daniel got right down to business. Daniel
wasted no time in seeking the Lord in serious determination and humility. He
didn’t just give a flippant sentence of prayer toward the Lord, but he meant
business!
The Bible tells us that God’s forgiveness comes to those
who “confess” their sin to Him, who repent. We see this in the Old as well as
the New Testament. Read the two sample verses of this below:
- 2
Chronicles 7:14 - “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves,
and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
- 1
John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The term “confess” found in 1 John 1:9 is a
translation of the Greek term HOMOLOGEO (Strong’s #3670), and literally means, ““to speak
the same thing” , “to assent, accord, agree with,” . . . “to confess by way of
admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward
conviction.”[3] Therefore, when we
confess our sin before God, in effect it means TO SEE THE SIN THE SAME
WAY GOD DOES, TO SEE OUR SIN FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE. That is exactly
what we see Daniel doing in this prayer. Daniel is putting our on the table
before God, the sins of the nation, and doing so as God sees the sin.
Daniel had an intimate relationship with God and he knew
God is merciful and forgiving. Therefore he sought the Lord on behalf of the
people. Daniel’s prayer reveals the heart of a prayer warrior. He was an
intercessor. Daniel was experienced in prayer, this was nothing knew to him and
he intended to pull out all the stops. He believed God existed and he believed
God was faithful to His word and so He approached God on the basis of His word.
That is the best way to approach God, on the basis of His word. When was the
last time you sought God with all your heart? Do you know what it
means to seek God with all your heart?
If you want to know what it means to “seek God with all your heart” just
look at Daniel’s prayer. Let’s see what and how Daniel prayed to God.
FIRST, DANIEL CONFESSES GOD’S GREAT FAITHFULNESS
Daniel 9:4 – “And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and
said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with
those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,”
Daniel begins his prayer by confessing that God is “great
and awesome,” that God is faithful, “who keeps His covenant,” and that God is
merciful. Noting these qualities in God serves as a backdrop and contrast to
the sinful behavior of the people. This contrast shouts of God’s grace as God
responds in forgiveness. Daniel is saying, “Lord, there is none like You and
You are not the problem here, we are, we are the ones who have caused all the
problems, we are the ones who have been unfaithful, we deserve these
consequences to our sins.”
When
David confessed his sin with Bathsheba before the Lord he began with
acknowledging God just as Daniel did:
- Psalm
51:1-4 – “Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my
transgressions.2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from
my sin.3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always
before me.4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this
evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And
blameless when You judge.”
Only when we come to know and acknowledge God according to
His nature do we really understand the sinfulness of our sin. Isaiah probably
thought he was a pretty upstanding man and right on with God, but when brought
into the presence of God, he understood his utter sinfulness before the holy
God:
- Isaiah
6:1-5 – “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the
temple.2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he
covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.3 And
one cried to another and said: 1 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is
full of His glory!”4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of
him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.5 So I said: “Woe is
me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the
King, The Lord of hosts.”
I believe that what happens to Daniel in this prayer of
chapter 9 is similar to that which occurred to Isaiah. You might think to
yourself, “Hey, wait a minute, why is Daniel including himself in this prayer
of repentance? Isn’t he one of the good guys? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
But no matter who you are, when you come into the presence of the “Holy, holy,
holy . . . LORD of hosts” you will see your utter spiritual bankruptcy before
Him. Daniel wasn’t fool enough to think it necessary to excuse himself before
God, “Now God, you know I’m not as bad as the people, in fact I’ve been a
pretty upright guy, a shinning light of yours, but let me intercede on their
behalf.” No, you see none of that. Daniel sees himself as a sinner before God,
plain and simple (e.g. Romans 3:23; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10).
Thank God that we are saved by His gracious provision in
Christ and not holding on to that chain of the Law in our own strength!
- Psalm
32:1-2 – “Blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven, Whose sin is covered.2 Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord does not
impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
- Romans
6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- Ephesians
1:7-9 – “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of His grace8 which He made to abound toward
us in all wisdom and prudence,9 having made known to us the mystery of His
will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,”
Daniel had a personal relationship with God and you cannot
have a personal relationship with Holy God unless you understand His grace and
forgiveness. We come into His presence by His grace. ON our own we are unfit
and ill equipped to come into His presence. By grace administered to us in
Christ, we come into His presence:
- Ephesians
2:18 – “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
Because of Daniel’s intimacy with God, when he comes
before God to intercede, he comes openly and honestly.
SECOND, DANIEL HONESTLY CONFESSES SIN
Daniel 9:5-8 -
“we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and
rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.6 “Neither
have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings
and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.7 “O Lord,
righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is
this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel,
those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven
them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.8 “O
Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our
fathers, because we have sinned against You.”
Daniel makes no attempt to sugarcoat or rationalize away
their sin, but he speaks openly and honestly about the fact that they are
guilty in all these things. He doesn’t even distinguish between himself and the
people; he includes himself with them in their sinfulness. He says, “we have
sinned” (9:5). Sometimes we go to God and we tone down our sin. There may be a
person we can’t stand, who we even hate; instead of confessing to God our true
attitude toward such a person we go to Him and say, “Well God, you know I have
a bit of a problem with old so-and-so. I don’t love him as much as I ought to.
I mean, it’s really not my fault. They’re such a creep. They . . . .” We end up
battering the other person in our prayers instead of coming clean before God in
our prayers. If you are going to seek God with all your heart, you have to open
your heart, every nook and cranny of it, honestly, open it to God. Daniel
acknowledges that they have not obeyed God’s word and when God sent prophets,
or took steps to wake them up to their sin and need, the people sinfully
rebelled and ignored God’s efforts. Daniel makes no excuses here, he simply
says, “Lord, we were dead wrong and You were right to bring captivity upon us.
You are righteous and we are ashamed to have rebelled against you as we did.”
When you come to God, you need to come to Him openly, honestly and see your
utter sinfulness before a great and awesome God.
THIRD, DANIEL ACKNOWLEDGES THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD
Daniel 9:9-15 - “To the Lord our God belong
mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.10 “We have not
obeyed the voice of the Lord our
God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.11
“Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey
Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the
servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against
Him.12 “And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against
our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the
whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.13 “As
it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come
upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and
understand Your truth.14 “Therefore the Lord
has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all
the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.15 “And now, O
Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty
hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned,
we have done wickedly!”
Daniel expresses confidence in God’s “mercy and
forgiveness” even though they have sinned. What Daniel says in effect is that
everything that has happened to them has occurred due to their disregard of
God’s word. Daniel acknowledges that God warned them in His word (9:10). The
Law of Moses stated this would happen and God’s word is true (Deuteronomy 28).
Daniel admits that based on God’s word they are all guilty before Him. This is
true always, all fall short of God’s glory, all have sinned (Romans 3:23). But
thankfully the same word which shows us our sin, also speaks of the righteous
mercy and grace of God.
FOUR, DANIEL APPEALS TO THE MERCY OF GOD
Daniel 9:16-19 - “O Lord, according to all Your
righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your
city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to
all those around us.17 “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your
servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to
shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.18 “O my God, incline Your ear and
hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by
Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our
righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord,
forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for
Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Daniel says, “for we do not present our supplications
before You because of our righteous deed, but because of Your great mercies.”
We should never go to God and appeal to Him to treat us justly, because justice
means we will get what we deserve and that is judgment! Mercy however, is not
getting what you deserve and as Daniel did, we should appeal to God’s mercy so
that we don’t get the judgment we deserve. There is a third aspect of coming to
God, which blesses us and that is God’s grace. Grace is God giving us what we don’t
deserve. We don’t deserve the countless second chances given us by God, but His
grace secures our hope.
God Shares With the Greatly Beloved
Daniel 9:20-23 – “Now while I was speaking,
praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting
my supplication before the Lord my
God for the holy mountain of my God,21 yes, while I was speaking in
prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.22 And
he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come
forth to give you skill to understand.23 “At the beginning of your
supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you
are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the
vision:”
The final verses of Daniel 9 contain an incredible
prophecy about the coming of Christ and the End Times. It should not be lost on
us that this awesome prophecy was given to one seen as “greatly beloved” who expressed that love in prayer. God opened up Daniel’s understanding and gave
him this prophecy after he had been seeking God in His word and seeking God in
prayer. Its almost as though God looked down on Daniel thinking, “Oh how I love
that Daniel, I’m going to bless him in a very special way and all those who
read the word I inspire through him I’m going to let him and all the world know
just exactly when My Son Jesus will make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.”
Daniel was ready and able to receive this blessed prophecy because he was
living in the greatly beloved relationship with God. That should speak to us. If we are going to
experience illumination and revelation about God, we need to be in His word and
on our knees. God opens His treasure chest of truth to those who seek Him.
God goes on to lay out prophetically 490 years of future
history for Israel. It is a fantastic word from the Lord that must have served
to be greatly comforting to Daniel and God’s people. If we love the Lord and
pray to Him, perhaps He will provide us with illumination from His word to
comfort and direct us. He already has done that. We simply need to be
illuminated to that word. That will happen if we pray.
CONCLUSION
“Greatly beloved,” was how Daniel was seen in heaven. He
was a man of God’s word and a man of prayer. He had an intimate and full
relationship with God that made him ready to receive one of the most incredible
prophecies in the Bible. Now if we follow in the footsteps of Daniel and are
seen as “greatly beloved,” it doesn’t mean we will receive a prophetic
revelation like he did, (God has closed the canon of scripture). But what it
does mean, I believe, is that we will receive deeper illumination of God’s word
and have a greater sense of the presence and intimacy available for us with
God. In effect, when we seek God in His word and in prayer, we come to know
what it means to be “greatly beloved.”
But we often miss out on the “greatly beloved” life with
God. Why? We miss it because of distractions, unconfessed sin, or simple
neglect or the memory of Who God is crowded out of our lives. . Tennessee
Williams in a story entitled “Something By Tolstoy” tells the story of two
people who were at one time “greatly beloved” to each other, but because of
neglect and distraction they missed out on that love.
“Jacob Brodzky, was a shy Russian Jew whose father
owned a bookstore. The older Brodzky wanted his son to go to college. The boy,
on the other hand, desired nothing but to marry Lila, his childhood sweetheart
-- a French girl as effusive, vital, and ambitious as he was contemplative and
retiring.
A couple of months after young Brodzky went to
college, his father fell ill and died. The son returned home, buried his
father, and married his love. Then the couple moved into the apartment above
the bookstore, and Brodzky took over its management. The life of books fit him
perfectly, but it cramped her. She wanted more adventure -- and she found it,
she thought, when she met an agent who praised her beautiful singing voice and
enticed her to tour Europe with a vaudeville company. Brodzky was devastated.
At their parting, he reached into his pocket and handed her the key to the
front door of the bookstore. "You had better keep this," he told her,
"because you will want it some day. Your love is not so much less than
mine that you can get away from it. You will come back sometime, and I will be
waiting. "She kissed him and left.
To escape the pain he felt, Brodzky withdrew deep
into his bookstore and took to reading as someone else might have taken to
drink. He spoke little, did little, and could most times be found at the large
desk near the rear of the shop, immersed in his books while he waited for his
love to return. Nearly 15 years after they parted, at Christmastime, she did
return. But when Brodzky rose from the reading desk that had been his place of
escape for all that time, he did not take the love of his life for more than an
ordinary customer. "Do you want a book?" he asked. That he didn't
recognize her startled her. But she gained possession of herself and replied,
"I want a book, but I've forgotten the name of it. "Then she told him
a story of childhood sweethearts. A story of a newly married couple that lived
in an apartment above a bookstore. A story of a young, ambitious wife who left
to seek a career, who enjoyed great success but could never relinquish the key
her husband gave her when they parted. She told him the story she thought would
bring him to himself. But his face showed no recognition. Gradually she
realized that he had lost touch with his heart's desire, that he no longer knew
the purpose of his waiting and grieving, that now all he remembered was the
waiting and grieving itself. "You remember it; you must remember it -- the
story of Lila and Jacob? "After a long, bewildered pause, he said,
"There is something familiar about the story, I think I have read it
somewhere. It comes to me that it is something by Tolstoy. "Dropping the
key, she fled the shop. And Brodzky returned to his desk, to his reading,
unaware that the love he waited for had come and gone. [4]
How sad it is when we are distracted from that which would have fulfilled and completed us. There is nothing greater than to be “greatly beloved” by God. I believe all believers are “greatly beloved” by God, but sadly, only a very few understand what it means to be “greatly beloved.” Won’t you draw near to God with all your heart? Won’t you come to experience that “greatly beloved” relationship with God? Don’t let this love pass you by. Seek the Lord with all your heart and He will be found by you.
[3]W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger
and William White, Vine’s complete expository dictionary of Old and New
Testament words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.
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