A Prayer for National Forgiveness Part 1

Introduction

Last Sunday we had a day of prayer for the persecuted church and for the election this past Tuesday. Daniel in chapter 9 also prayed for his people and for national forgiveness for the nation of Judah/Israel. He prays for sins that he did not necessary commit, but sins that his ancestors commited. He pleads before the LORD to forgive the sins commited in the past. Do we pray for God’s forgiveness for our nation?

The Context (9:1-2)

Daniel 9:1–2 NKJV

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—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.

As with chapters 7 and 8 this chapter opens with the time frame. This is in the first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus. So the events have moved forward from Babylonian power to under the Median rule. So it is the time of the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6.

So Darius is now the ruler of the city of Babylon and it is during this time that Daniel records this.

It is at at this point that Daniel figures out what was the time frame of the exile. He had access to the scrolls/letters from Jeremiah the prophet. At the very least he had the letter that is recorded in chapter 29.

Jeremiah 25:11 NKJV

And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jeremiah 29:3–14 NKJV

The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord. 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. 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. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 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.

This letter from Jeremiah had been sent to Babylon by the hand of Elasah to the captives in Babylon.

It would be 70 years (7 decades). This is why we know the approximate age of Daniel around this time. If 70 years had passed or nearly 70 years had passed so Daniel would have been in the 80s.

Thinking about this I thought about a scene from Back to the Future Part 2 (so spoilers). Toward the end of the second movie the two main characters Marty and Doc are in 1955. Marty is on the ground and Doc Browne is in the flying DeLorean. The car gets struck by lightning and he disappears into time. Moments later a car comes up in the storm and asks if the person standing there is Marty McFly. Marty is confused since he is from 1985. He is from Western Union and he has had a letter from 1885 (70 years earlier). A letter from the Doc.

So we are not told if Daniel read this letter before this date in chapter 9, but at this point in time the letter from Jeremiah makes sense. He knows it has been or will soon be 70 years since the people were kicked out of the Promise Land and taken to Babylon.

The Response (verses 3-4)

Daniel 9:3–4 (NKJV)

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said

So Daniel sets his face to toward God (Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”)

Make request by Prayer, Supplication, Fasting, Sackcloth, and Ashes

English Standard Version Chapter 9

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:1 NKJV

When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.

Esther 4:3 NKJV

And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Jonah 3:6 NKJV

Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 9

A customary sign of grief

Daniel sees the sins of Israel for what they were and he wants to repent of the sins of his people.

He MADE CONFESSION

The PRAYER (4-19)

Let us read through the prayer in full and then we will look back at it in detail today and next Sunday and look at how we can apply it our communities and our nation.

Daniel 9:4–19 NKJV

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, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 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. 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. “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 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. 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. 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. “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. 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. 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! “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. 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. 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. 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.”

Adoration (Verse 4)

Daniel 9:4 NKJV

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,

I have on a few times talked and have prayed the ACTS prayer (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). Daniel is doing something similar. He starts off by praising God’s name.

God, You are Great and Awesome!

You keep Your covenant

You have mercy on those who love You and who keep Your commandments.

He points out that God keeps His promises. he keeps His word!

The Confession (Verse 5-6)

Daniel 9:5–6 NKJV

we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 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.

God was right in what He did (verse 7-11)

Daniel 9:7–11 NKJV

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. “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 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. 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.

Application

Conclusion