Daniel 9:1-19, Daniel’s Confession

Jeremiah 25:11-13 says, “¹¹ This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ¹² Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.” Daniel had a copy of Jeremiah’s prophecies and read this toward the end of the seventy years of Israel’s exile. Jeremiah 29:11 also said, “For thus says Yahweh: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” This moved Daniel to pray.

^9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

³ Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to Yahweh my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ To you, O Yahweh, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. ⁸ To us, O Yahweh, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him ¹⁰ and have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. ¹² He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore Yahweh has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for Yahweh our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and 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 have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶ “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Though the seventy years is not up, Daniel begins to pray, confessing the sins of his people. Apparently, he believes that the restoration of his people to their land is not only dependent upon God’s predicted time in exile, but upon Israel’s heart return to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 30). Perhaps he also believed that one Israelite making confession would lead others to as well.

Daniel’s preparation for confession was fasting and the wearing of sackcloth and putting ashes on his head. He was owning his people’s sin. The sin was that of their kings, princes and fathers, in other words, everyone. Israel, he avers, deserved all the punishment Yahweh had sent them, punishment Yahweh had promised (Lev 26:39-45; Dt 28:45-63; 30:1-5). But now Daniel was asking Yahweh to show mercy and restore His people who had become a byword among the nations, and thus, a shame to God. Daniel asked God to do this for His own sake, because Israel was called by His name.

Can we do the same for our own country or community?

Taking up my cross daily: I pray, today, for my country, confessing our sins and asking for your undeserved mercy.