Have Mercy on "Us"
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It is really difficult to deal with the concept of God’s Mercy and God’s Justice at the same time.
It so often seems that these are opposite aspects of God, and somehow we are to fall into the middle of this incredible tension
Describe Ichichiro from Silence
I have usually left this movie totally uncertain as to wether or not Ichichiro was truly a Christian.
So now we must ask the big question: How long is repentance effective?
This is a question that has an apparent, Sunday school answer, but I know that it haunts me most days.
Let’s read Daniel 9:1-19
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
I prayed to the Lord 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,
we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.
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.
To you, O Lord, 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.
To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him
and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
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.
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.
As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.
Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and 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 have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
“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.
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.
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.
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.”
What is the Problem
What is the Problem
Israel Rebelled
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him
and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
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.
Very basically, Israel knew better.
Israel Ignored the Prophets
“Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
God tried to get Israel to turn around
It isn’t like Israel was not asked to change!
Time and time again, Israel rejected the opportunity to turn back to YHWH
God is Keeping His Promises
“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.
“Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
God swore to mess up those who ignore his commands Deut 30:16-19
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,
I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
This is not the actions of an arbitrary, mean God. It is the action of a God who keeps his promises.
What does Daniel do?
What does Daniel do?
He Recognizes Fault (19:5-6, 11, 15)
we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
He’s Inclusive (19:5-20)
Daniel repents for the sins of his people, not just himself
19:5 “We have sinned and done wrong...”
19:6 “We have not listened to our servants the prophets...”
19:7 “To us [belongs] open shame...”
19:8 “To us, O Lord, belongs open shame...”
19:9 “For we have rebelled against him...”
19:11 “We sinned against him”
19:13 “yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God”
19:15 “we have sinned”
19:20 “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel
Isaiah does something similar
Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Daniel does not draw a sharp distinction between the sins he has committed and the sins of his neighbor. Rather, he repents for both.
So often we commit the sin of Jonah: We pray not for the repentance of the wicked, but for their destruction, all the while ignoring our own pride and arrogance.
He Begs for Mercy (19:7-10, 16-19)
“O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us.
“So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.
“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 are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.
“O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Daniel assumes that God will be merciful for his own reputation’s sake! This part is never in doubt. God is never not merciful. He never wonders wether or not he will show mercy.
In order to prevent himself from being a liar, God must have mercy on all those who repent. Deut 30:1-4
“So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you,
and you return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons,
then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.
“If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.
This mercy is not contingent on the number of times we repent. God only smites Israel because they didn’t repent, not because they did it to much
Seemingly, God would not have exiled them if they would have repented. Daniel 9:13
“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.
Note also that Daniel, after he repents, is called “loved” Daniel 9:23
“At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
Not only must God forgive those who repent, he actively loves those who repent! If strongarming God into forgiving you isn’t enough, he desperately loves you on top of it!
If God is just (one who keeps his promises), then he of necessity will forgive those who confess their faults.
What Do We Do?
What Do We Do?
Repent of Our Own Sin
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Repent of the Sins Of Our People
Daniel teaches us that, somehow, we are still responsible for the sins of those around us: our family, our church, our nation
We should call other people to repentance, but we must always recognize that we are also included in that call.
We should have such a deep recognition our sin that it pains us as much as the the problems of the world do
Story of Josh complaining about me popping his tire after driving through the fence
Ask God for Mercy Confidently
Our job is to ask our Father to be merciful, knowing that he will be
God has swore by himself to be merciful to those who repent. Do not worry wether or not God will forgive: since he is just, he will be merciful.
This knowledge of the reality of God’s mercy should inspire us to repent, not fear what will happen if God finds out. Rather, by not repenting, by hoping our sin will just go away, we pose a greater risk to ourselves.