Daniel 9.9-Daniel Acknowledges God is Compassionate and Forgiving with Israel Even Though They Rebelled Against Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 24, 2013
Daniel: Daniel 9:9-Daniel Acknowledges God is Compassionate and Forgiving with Israel Even Though They Rebelled Against Him
Lesson # 264
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9:1.
Review of Daniel 9:1-8
Daniel 9:1 During Darius’ first year, Ahasuerus’ son, who was from Median descent, who was made king over the Chaldeans’ kingdom. (Author’s translation)
Daniel 9:1 tells the reader when Daniel received his third great prophetic revelation. It was during the first year of Darius the Mede’s reign who was the son of Ahasuerus. Then, he informs the reader that Darius was made king over the Babylonian kingdom. This would be 538-539 B.C. immediately after the Medo-Persian Empire conquered and absorbed the Babylon Empire.
Darius was installed as king by Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6:28 (6:29) records that Daniel prospered during the reign of Cyrus the Persian. In 539 B.C. Cyrus overthrew Babylon and established the Medo-Persian Empire. This was Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon. His policy was to restore displaced peoples to their lands, which included the Jews. He issued a decree in 538 B.C. that permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem if they wanted to (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). Fifty thousand Jewish exiles returned and began to rebuild the temple, which was an answer to Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:4-19). The temple was completed in 515 B.C. (Ezra 6:15). Seventy years had elapsed from the first deportation of Jews in 605 B.C. to the rebuilt foundation of the temple in 536 B.C. This fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy as well (Jeremiah 25:11-12).
The prophetic revelation that Daniel received during the first year of Darius the Mede’s reign over Babylon took place after the second great prophetic revelation he received from God in 551 B.C. during the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, which would be 551 B.C. This prophetic revelation presented in chapter nine took place fourteen years after his first great prophetic revelation from God during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign as co-regent with his father Nabonidus. This would be the year 553 B.C. This first prophetic revelation took place fourteen years prior to Daniel’s experience in the lions’ den. He was 68 years of age in 553 B.C. since he was taken captive about the age of 16 or 17 which was 52 years earlier in 605 B.C. This revelation Daniel received from God as recorded in chapter eight also took place before the events of Daniel chapter five, which took place in 539 B.C. Thus, this revelation in chapter nine took place immediately after the fall of Babylon. Daniel would also thus be eighty-four years of age when he received this third prophetic revelation in 539 B.C.
The Darius mentioned here in Daniel 9:1 is the same one mentioned in Daniel 5:31, which in the Aramaic is actually Daniel 6:1. Darius is the same as Gubaru, who was the governor appointed over Babylon by Cyrus. This interpretation is strongly supported by the biblical text because Daniel 5:31 (6:1) and Daniel 9:1 make clear that Darius the Mede was appointed king over Babylon. This interpretation is also supported by the Nabonidus-Cyrus Chronicle where Gubaru (Gobryas) is called Cyrus’ governor.
Darius the Mede must not be confused with Darius I who began to rule in 522 B.C. since the latter was a about twenty-eight by 522 B.C. having been born in approximately 550 B.C. whereas the former was sixty-two when he began to rule according to Daniel 5:31 (6:1). Furthermore, Darius I was of a Persian royal line because his father, Hystaspes, was of the Achaemenid dynasty whereas the father Darius the Mede was Ahasuerus who was of Median descent according to Daniel 9:1. Darius I took the throne by a coup d’état whereas Cyrus appointed Darius the Mede to be king over Babylon according to Daniel 9:1.
Darius I is mentioned in Ezra 4:5, 24; 5:5-7; 6:1, 12, 15 as well as Haggai 1:1; 2:10; Zechariah 1:1, 7; 7:1 whereas Darius the Mede is only mentioned in the book of Daniel (6:1, 6, 9, 25, 28; 9:1; 11:1). The royal houses of the kingdoms of Media and Persia were closely related by marriage, which the Median king, Astyages, had arranged. He wed his daughter, Mandane to Cambyses, King of Anshan. This union produced Cyrus the Great who later became king of Persia. Astyages had a son as well, namely Darius Cyaxares (pronounced sigh AKS uh reez) II who is none other than Darius the Mede and uncle of Cyrus the Great. The latter spent little time in Babylon after its capture. Thus, he left Babylon in Darius’ hands, his uncle. Cyrus eventually married the daughter of Darius. Then approximately two years later, upon the death of Darius, Cyrus united the kingdoms of Media and Persia and assumed the title King of Persia. Daniel’s statement here in Daniel 5:31 (6:1) that Darius the Mede received the Babylonian kingdom from Cyrus agrees with Xenophon who identifies Darius the Mede as Cyaxares II (Cyropaedia, 8.5, 19).
Nehemiah 12:22 mentions a Darius the Persian, who is not the same Darius mentioned in Daniel chapter six since the latter of course was a Mede according to Daniel 6:1. This Darius was known as Darius Codomannus or Darius III. He was the last king of Persia. His empire was destroyed by Alexander the Great.
Daniel 9:2 During the first year of his reign, I myself, Daniel understood by means of the scrolls the specific number of years which the word of the Lord communicated to Jeremiah the prophet for completing devastating Jerusalem-seventy years. (Author’s translation)
Daniel informs the reader that during the first year of Darius the Mede’s reign as king over Babylon, he was studying the scrolls which constituted the Old Testament Scriptures in the sixth century B.C. He was specifically studying prophecies by a contemporary of his, namely the prophet Jeremiah. The specific prophecy Daniel was studying was that Jerusalem would lie in ruins for seventy years as a result of disobeying the Lord’s command to give the land a Sabbath rest every seven years. This prophecy is recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14. 2 Chronicles 36:21 speaks of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the Babylonian exile and it indicates quite clearly that the exile would last 70 years.
The seventy years of captivity were the specific penalty for violating seventy sabbatic years, which would be seventy sevens, a total of seventy years. Seven days are in one week and every seventh year was a Sabbath rest and seventy sevens brought them to the year of Jubilee which is noted in Leviticus 25:8-12. The provisions for the land’s Sabbath rest are recorded in detail in Leviticus 25:2-4, 26:32-35, 43 but in those 490 years, Israel had violated exactly seventy sabbatic years so they would go into captivity for seventy years to make amends (cf. Exodus 23:10-13).
These seventy years of discipline from God began in 605 B.C. with Nebuchadnezzar’s first of three invasions of Israel. The end of this discipline would be in 535 A.D. The beginning of this discipline also marked the Times of the Gentiles as we have noted in previous studies in the book of Daniel.
God discipline the nation in order to rid her of her idolatry. Many false prophets in Israel said that Israel would return in a year or two but as the years passed it was quite evident to the surviving Jews that they were wrong and that Jeremiah was right. The Jews like Daniel began studying the writings of Jeremiah.
So in Daniel 9:2, Daniel tells the reader that he was studying the prophecy of Jeremiah in which the prophet predicts that the Jews would return from Babylon to the land of Israel after seventy years of discipline. It appears that the Medo-Persian victory over the Babylonian Empire meant the termination of this seventy year exile in Babylon. Furthermore, Daniel knew that Cyrus had a policy of allowing exiles to return to their homeland. He knew that in two short years the seventy years would be over and that a remnant would return to the land from Babylon.
Daniel knew first hand the starting time for this prophecy. It began in 605 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar deported him as well as some of the royal family in Israel and some of the nobles. Therefore, by knowing when the seventy years began and knowing that Jeremiah prophesied of a seventy year exile, Daniel could simply count the years and know the exact year when the Jewish exiles would return to Israel. When Daniel received this vision, he says it was in the first year of Darius the Mede’s reign over Babylon which would be 538 or 539 B.C. The seventy years was to be completed by 535 B.C. Thus, Daniel knew there were only a few shorts years left of the exile in Babylon.
Daniel 9:3 Therefore, I devoted my full attention to my Lord, the one and only God by repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of pleas for mercy while fasting with sackcloth as well as ashes. (Author’s translation)
Daniel presents the result of understanding Jeremiah’s prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14, which made clear that Jerusalem, would lie desolate and abandoned for seventy years and then go would bring back the Jewish exiles to the land of Israel. So as a result of understanding this prophecy Daniel tells the reader that he devoted his full attention to his Lord whom he describes as the one and only God. He does this by repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of pleas for mercy while fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:4-19 make clear that Daniel’s prayer was on behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
So what Daniel is telling the reader is that as a result of understanding that the seventy years for the desolation of Jerusalem was almost complete, he devoted his attention to his God by repeatedly offering up an intercessory prayer request for the Jewish exiles in Babylon. He understood that the reason why God delivered the Jews over to Nebuchadnezzar and allowed this king to destroy Jerusalem and send the surviving Jews into exile was that God was disciplining the nation of Israel for their apostasy.
Daniel knows that the majority of the Jewish exiles have not turned back to God by learning and obeying His Word. Even though the book of Daniel up to this point has made clear that Daniel was not involved in this apostasy, he identifies with the nation so as to intercede on their behalf. Daniel was faithful and yet he prays for those who are unfaithful in Israel that they would repent by returning to learning and obeying the Word of God. This demonstrates the love of God in Daniel’s life in that he intercedes for others and specifically those who have rebelled against God. God desired the Jewish exiles to repent and Daniel knew that God wanted this, thus Daniel prays for them. His prayer request was a plea for mercy for these apostate Jewish exiles. Daniel confesses the sins of the Jewish people and acknowledging to God that He was right to discipline the nation severely for their apostasy. He appeals to God’s merciful character to forgiven the nation for its sin since the nation he acknowledges as no merit with God whatsoever.
The wearing of sackcloth and ashes by Daniel and his fasting while offering up this intercessory prayer for the Jewish people was on behalf of the Jewish people. They should have been in sackcloth and ashes and fasting to demonstrate humility before God and repentance. Yet Daniel does this for them.
Also, Daniel is obeying the Word of God. In fact, he is applying 1 Kings 8:33-36 to his situation with the Jewish people. Daniel is doing exactly what Solomon spoke to God at the dedication of the temple he built.
Israel was defeated by Babylon because they sinned against their God. However, Daniel seeks to intercede with the nation by confessing their sin and praying on behalf of the nation. Solomon requested that God would forgive them and restore them to the land if they did these things. Thus, we see Daniel claiming the promises of God.
Therefore, we can see that Daniel built his prayer life upon the Word of God, which gives us a great example here in the church age in the twenty-first century. The Spirit of God inspired the Word of God and through the teaching of the Word of God reveals the Father’s holy character and will. Prayer is asking what God’s will to be accomplished. Daniel understood this so prayed in accordance with the teaching of the Word of God in order that God’s will would be accomplished with regards to the nation of Israel. Daniel understood that God employs prayer as the means by which He fulfills His Word.
The prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14 prompted Daniel to pray in the first place for the Jewish exiles in Babylon. This is another great example for Christians to follow during the church age. The study of prophecy should prompt believers to intercede in prayer on behalf of those in apostasy in the church as well as to intercede in prayer on behalf of the unsaved. Prophecy should thus produce a humble attitude in us which leads to confession and prayer for oneself and others.
Notice, that Daniel tells the reader that he devoted his full attention to intercessory prayer on behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. We know from chapter six, he prayed three times a day. Thus, Daniel’s pray was not a casual nod to God but rather he was concentrating upon what he was saying to God. There was a sense of urgency in his prayer and intensity. His prayer was characterized by concentration. Fasting and the wearing sackcloth and ashes were employed by Daniel as a means to aid in his devotion to God in prayer. They were expressions of his humility before God in that he was recognized that he had no merit with God and was placing himself at the mercy of God. He was fasting because he was seeking forgiveness for the Jewish exiles and that God would intervene by restoring the exiles to Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:4 Indeed, I caused myself to enter into prayer to the Lord my God. Specifically, I caused myself to enter into confession and said, “O my Lord, the one and only God, the Great One yes the Awesome One, who is faithful to His covenant because of His unconditional love on behalf of those who love Him, namely on behalf of those who conscientiously observe His commands.” (Author’s translation)
In Daniel 9:4, Daniel tells the reader that he caused himself to enter into prayer with his God. He then specifies a particular aspect of prayer he began with, namely confession on behalf of the nation Israel which constituted an intercessory prayer for the nation.
Before he begins to tell the reader that he confessed the sins of Israel to his God, he describes his God. When addressing his God, Daniel describes the God of Israel as His Lord, which describes Daniel’s covenant relationship with the God of Israel. He then describes the God of Israel as “the one and only God” which refers to the fact that the God of Israel is superior to the gods of the heathen and is distinguished from the heathen gods as the true and living, the Creator. Daniel then describes as “the Great One,” which describes Daniel’s God as superior to the gods worshipped by the heathen. It too emphasizes that Daniel’s God is distinguished from these heathen. Then, Daniel describes his God as “the Awesome One,” which means that his God inspires awe in people. This has been demonstrated in the book of Daniel with God delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar’s power. It was also demonstrated by God delivering Daniel from the mouths of the lions as well as deposing Nebuchadnezzar from power for seven years and then restoring him to power after his repentance. The God of Israel is also worthy of this title “the Awesome One” because of the discipline He administered to the nation of Israel because of their unrepentant rebellion against Him. Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Israel was awe inspiring and the God of Israel raised this wicked king to carry out this destruction.
Daniel continues to describe his God as being “faithful to His covenant” which is expressing the fact that the God of Israel demonstrates unswerving adherence to His covenant promises with His people, Israel, which inextricably unite Him with Israel. The word denotes that He always upholds His covenant promises. The covenant in view here is the Mosaic covenant, which is indicated in Daniel 9:11 and 13 which refers to God disciplining the nation of Israel for disobeying the law of Moses.
Daniel then tells the reader the reason why God is faithful to His covenant, namely because of His unconditional love, which describes God as loyal or faithful to His covenants with men and characterizes how God acts towards His covenant people Israel. God is characterized as remaining faithful to His covenant promises even though His people fail Him because He is unconditional love. Even though Israel fails Him, He remains faithful and continues to love them because He is unconditional love.
Then, the reader is told what specific group of individuals who are the beneficiaries of God’s faithful which is based on His attribute of love, namely those who love Him. Daniel then defines what he means by the phrase “those who love” God by telling the reader that it refers to those who conscientiously obey His commands. Thus, Daniel is telling the reader that the conscientious observance of God’s commands constitutes loving God in the sense of honoring and respecting Him.
So Daniel 9:4 reveals that Daniel began his intercessory prayer on behalf of the Jewish exiles by praising the character and nature of the God of Israel who he possessed a covenant relationship with through faith in the God of Israel. He praised God in the sense of acknowledging and esteeming His excellence. Daniel acknowledged and esteemed the excellence of his God’s character with emphasis upon His mercy, which is based upon His attribute of love. He acknowledged and esteemed or expressed a high regard for the excellence of God’s mercy, omnipotence and sovereignty. God’s merciful love was demonstrated toward the nation of Israel in that He did not destroy the nation for her rebellion against Him. It was demonstrated toward Daniel and his three friends when God protected, prospered and delivered them from every adversity.
Daniel’s intercessory prayer reveals that he was claiming the promises which appear in Leviticus 26:40-42.
Daniel begins this intercessory prayer on behalf of the Jewish exiles by praising the God of Israel’s character and in particular His covenant faithfulness which is based upon His attribute of love since he is going to appeal to this love in order to cause God to act and restore the Jewish exiles to the land of Israel and Jerusalem. It also an acknowledgement that God has kept His side of the covenant and Israel has not. It makes clear that God has no responsibility for the collapse of the relationship between Himself and Israel. So the beginning of Daniel’s prayer is acknowledgement that God is in the right and verses 5-16 will make clear that Israel was clearly in the wrong and totally and completely at fault for the collapse of the relationship between herself and God.
The fact that God answered Daniel’s prayer was an answer to Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple which he built for the worship of God (1 Kings 8:46-53).
Daniel 9:5 “We have sinned, thus we have done wrong so that we have been condemned as guilty because we have rebelled in view of the fact we have deviated from Your commands, that is, from Your laws.” (Author’s translation)
After beginning his prayer by addressing God while acknowledging His holy character and nature and faithfulness to His covenant with Israel because of His attribute of love, Daniel begins to confess the sins of his fellow countrymen and women. Throughout this confession, Daniel uses the first person plural in order to identify with his people Israel as though he were personally responsible for sinning against God, which he was not. He was one of the few people in Israel who conscientiously observed the commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law as demonstrated in Daniel chapter one. If you recall, he refused to eat the food and drink the win prescribed by Nebuchadnezzar because this food and wine would have made him ceremonially unclean according to the dietary regulations of the Law.
“We have sinned” refers to the nation of Israel sinning against God in the sense that they were guilty of disobeying the various commands and prohibitions in the law which was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Daniel is acknowledging to God that Israel has been guilty of moral wrongdoing in the sense that they disobeyed the various commands and prohibitions which appear in the Mosaic Law. It refers to the corporate sin of the nation of Israel in the sense that they were guilty as a corporate unit of disobeying the various commands and prohibitions in the Mosaic Law, which constituted sin against God and violating His perfect holy standards. The acknowledgement of the corporate sin of Israel by an individual interceding for the nation appears in several passages in the Old Testament (cf. Numbers 14:40; 21:7; Judges 10:10; 1 Samuel 7:6; 12:10; Jeremiah 3:25; 8:14; 14:7, 20; Nehemiah 1:6).
“We have done wrong” presents the result of or the implication of Israel’s corporate sin against God in the sense that Israel acted contrary to God’s holy standards, which are reflected in its various commands and prohibitions which appear in the Mosaic Law.
“We have been condemned as guilty” presents the result of the previous two acknowledgements. It tells the reader that because of Israel’s sinning which constituted wrongdoing against God, the nation was justly chargeable with a crime or responsible for a crime and deserving of punishment. It summarizes all of Israel’s disobedience against God. These sinful actions caused Israel to be condemned as wicked or guilty by God so that they deserved to be punished. Israel’s sinful behavior was morally reprehensible in the sight of God who is holy so that they were condemned as wicked and guilty by God and deserving of punishment from Him.
“Because we have rebelled” presents the reason why condemned Israel as guilty and describes Israel’s sinning which constituted doing wrong against God as disobeying, opposing and resisting God’s authority. It describes sinning against God as in fact rebellion against God’s authority.
“In view of the fact that we have deviated from Your commands” presents the reason why Israel rebelled against God’s authority and conveys the idea of apostasy. This causal clause describes Israel as turning away from the authoritative directives of the God of Israel which were communicated to His subordinate Moses who in turn put them down in writing and communicating them to the nation of Israel. They deviated from God’s laws in the sense that they separated themselves from God or severed their relationship with Him by their disobedience to His law.
“That is, from Your laws” defines specifically the meaning of “from Your commands.” It refers to the various rules of conduct in the Mosaic Law which are prescribed by God for the nation of Israel and are binding and enforced by God who is the sovereign authority over the nation. It speaks of the entire body of rules and regulations or commands and prohibitions in the Mosaic Law.
Daniel is interceding for the nation of Israel. One of the essential elements of prayer is that of intercession, which refers to praying for both the temporal and spiritual needs of believers and unbelievers, friends and enemies (Luke 23:34; Eph 1:16-23; 3:14-19; 6:18; 1 Ti 2:1-4). Intercessory prayer refers to praying for both the temporal and spiritual needs of believers and unbelievers, friends and enemies (Luke 23:34; Eph 1:16-23; 3:14-19; 6:18; 1 Ti 2:1-4).
Daniel’s intercessory prayer was an act of divine love meaning that it was an act motivated by the Holy Spirit which expresses God’s love for the nation of Israel. His prayer reflected the heart of God who is love. God was motivated Daniel to make this prayer because He, God wanted to forgive and restore the Jewish exiles to the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Here in Daniel 9:5, Daniel makes clear that Israel was disciplined by God for their bad attitude toward His Word in the sense that they disobeyed the various commands and prohibitions in the Mosaic Law. These various commands and prohibitions constituted the revelation of God’s will for the nation of Israel. Thus, their disobedience to these commands and prohibitions constituted a rejection of God’s will for the lives.
Daniel 9:6 “Furthermore, to our own detriment, we never paid attention to Your servants, the prophets who spoke by Your authority to and for the benefit of our kings as well as our leaders and in addition our ancestors, yes, to and for the benefit of all the people belonging to the land.” (Author’s translation)
Daniel’s continues to intercede for his fellow countrymen by confessing to God that the nation of Israel never paid attention to His servants, the prophets who spoke by His authority for the benefit of Israel’s kings, leaders, ancestors and in fact all the people of the land. Notice that Daniel tells the reader that every aspect or every class in Israelite society rejected the prophets God sent to them.
These prophets were sent to Israel as an expression of God’s grace, which flows from His attribute of love. God sent these prophets to Israel to rebuke the nation and call them to repentance. However, in response to this, Israel rejected these prophets and in fact killed many of them. So not only did Israel reject the Mosaic Law by disobeying its various commands and prohibitions but also they rejected the prophets by disobeying their message from God to repent. Therefore, because of the rejection of His prophets, God finally severely disciplined the nation of Israel by sending Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and exile the people to Babylon.
God the Holy Spirit through the prophet Jeremiah who was a contemporary of Daniel also communicated to Israel that she had rejected the prophets (cf. Jeremiah 26:1-6; 29:1-19; 35:12-15; 44:1-5). 2 Chronicles 36:16 tells us that Israel scoffed at God’s prophets, despising the very words God gave the prophets to communicate to Israel.
The prophets of God who were sent to Israel were in effect covenant enforcers in the sense that they called the people to repent by confessing their sins to God to be restored to fellowship with God. They also exhorted them to obedience to God to maintain that fellowship with God. By rejecting this message, Israel put themselves under divine discipline. The fact that God sent the prophets to warn Israel reveals that God did not want to judge the nation and in fact loved the nation.
Daniel 9:7 “You are righteous my Lord but we are publicly disgraced as is the case this very day. To the detriment of the Judean people as well as to the detriment of Jerusalem’s inhabitants likewise to the detriment of all Israel, those nearby as well as those far way in all the countries where You have driven them because of their unfaithfulness which they perpetrated against You.” (Author’s translation)
Daniel continues his intercessory prayer to the God of Israel on behalf of Israel by acknowledging that God is righteous which refers to God’s perfect integrity in that His character is upright, honest, perfectly whole, undiminished, sound, unimpaired and in perfect condition. It signifies that He is inherently perfect virtue in that His character is perfect moral excellence, goodness, and their conduct is conformed perfectly to His own perfect holy standards and what they have promised to men or group of people like Israel and the church. So by acknowledging that God is righteous, Daniel is clearing God of any guilt with regards to His relationship with Israel. He is acknowledging that God has been faithful since He always did right by the Israelites. He always kept His covenantal obligations in His relationship with Israel.
In contrast to God, Daniel acknowledges Israel’s unfaithfulness with regards to their covenantal obligations with God. Daniel says that Israel is publicly disgrace during the time he offered up this prayer to God for Israel. This public disgrace refers to the Assyrian exile of the northern kingdom in 721 B.C. as well as the Babylonian exile of the southern kingdom in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.
Daniel defines who the “we” is in the phrase “we are publicly disgraced as is the case this very day.” The first group he identifies is the southern kingdom, which includes the Judean people and Jerusalem’s inhabitants. Then he mentions the northern kingdom by the phrase “all Israel.” The northern kingdom was exiled to Assyria and the southern kingdom was exiled to Babylon.
So we can see that in verse 5, Daniel indicts Israel according to their status in society or position in society whereas here in verse 7, he indicts them according to the geographical region they lived in before they were exiled.
Daniel then identifies covenantal unfaithfulness as the reason why both the northern and kingdom’s were disgraced when he offered up this intercessory prayer to God for Israel. They had been habitually disobedient to the various prohibitions and commands in the Mosaic Law.
So therefore, here in Daniel 9:7, Daniel is telling God and the reader that God was justified in disciplining the northern and southern kingdoms for their disobedience to their covenantal responsibilities. He acknowledged to God on behalf of Israel that Israel had been justly disciplined by God and exiled throughout the Middle East. They had justly suffered the covenant curses threatened by God through Moses. The fact that God did severely discipline the northern and southern kingdoms demonstrated God’s righteousness in the sense that He acted according to His perfect holy standards. God was righteous in His dealings with the northern and southern kingdoms because by disciplining them through exiling them to Assyria and Babylon, He did what His holy standards required. They were unrepentant in their disobedience, thus God acted according to what His perfect holy standards required, namely judgment.
We must remember God extended grace to the nation which expressed His attribute of love. He demonstrated His love by over and over again sending the prophets to communicate a message from Him that He will judge them if they are unrepentant but would forgive them if they did repent. He sent these prophets over and over again to turn back Israel to Himself but the majority rejected their message and thus God. Thus, God disciplined the nation. So what made Israel disgrace so much more shameful is that she rejected God’s compassionate appeals for her to repent.
Undoubtedly when Daniel was offering up his prayer to God he was thinking about Leviticus 26:14-39 and Deuteronomy 28:15-58. In the latter, God gives Israel two options, namely blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience.
Daniel 9:8 “We are publicly disgraced Lord, to the detriment of our kings, to the detriment of our leaders as well as to the detriment of our ancestors because we have sinned against You.” (Author’s translation)
From Daniel 9:5, Daniel here in verse 8 repeats the verb ḥā·ṭā(ʾ) (חָטָא) (khaw-taw´), “we have sinned.” Also, from Daniel 9:7, here in verse 8 he repeats the phrase hǎ pā·nîmʹ bōʹ·šěṯ (בֹּ֣שֶׁת הַפָּנִ֔ים), “we are publicly disgraced.” Furthermore, from Daniel 9:6, Daniel repeats the words the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh-lek), “kings” which is modified by ʾǎnǎḥ·nû (אֲנַחְנוּ) (an-akh´-noo), “our” and the noun śǎr (שַׂר) (sar), “princes” which is modified by ʾǎnǎḥ·nû (אֲנַחְנוּ) (an-akh´-noo), “our” and noun ʾāḇ (אָב) (awb), “fathers” which is also modified by ʾǎnǎḥ·nû (אֲנַחְנוּ) (an-akh´-noo), “our.” The repetition emphasizes with the reader and God that every aspect of Israelite society including the aristocracy deserved the disciplined they received from God because they all unrepentantly sinned against God. They were publicly disgraced by being exiled to Assyria and Babylon because of they unrepentantly sinned against God. In other words, they were volitionally responsible. They were exiled because of their own rebellion and apostasy. They were to blame for their mess they were in and not God who by sending the prophets was attempting to prevent this from calamity from happening to them. Therefore, we can see that here in Daniel 9:5-8, Daniel is vindicated God and his indicting and charging his fellow countrymen with a crime of being adulterous in their relationship with the Lord. God was completely justified in severely disciplining both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel by sending them all into exile in Assyria and Babylon.
Despite Israel’s Rebellion Against Him, God is Compassionate and Forgiving
Daniel 9:9 “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him.” (NASB95)
This verse is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun ʾǎḏō·nāy (אֲדֹנָי) (ad-o-noy´), “Lord” which is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix ʾǎnî (אֲנִי) (an-ee), which is not translated and then we have the articular masculine plural form of the noun ʾělō∙hîm (אֱלֹהִים) (el-o-heem), “God” which is modified by the first person plural pronominal suffix ʾǎnǎḥ·nû (אֲנַחְנוּ) (an-akh´-noo), “our” and then we have the articular masculine plural form of the noun rǎ∙ḥǎmîm (רַחֲמִים) (rakh-am), “compassion” and this followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the articular feminine plural form of the noun selî·ḥā(h) (סְלִיחָה) (sel-ee-khaw´), “forgiveness” and then we have the conjunction kî (כִּי) (kee), “for” and then we have the first person plural qal active perfect form of the verb mā·rǎḏ (מָרַד) (maw-rad´), “we have rebelled” which is followed by the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “against” and its object is the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “Him.”
Asyndeton
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Daniel is employing the figure of “asyndeton” in order to emphasize Daniel’s statement here in verse 9 that God is compassionate and forgiving despite the fact that Israel rebelled against Him. Daniel uses this figure expresses the solemn nature of this statement that he made to the Lord in his intercessory prayer on behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon and around the world at that time. The Spirit wants the reader to dwell upon this statement regarding God’s compassionate and forgiving character.
ʾǎḏō·nāy
The noun ʾǎḏō·nāy means “Lord” referring to the God of Israel expressing the sovereignty authority over Israel and all of creation. It also expresses the fact that Daniel views himself as inferior and subordinate to the God of Israel.
The noun is modified by the first person singular pronominal suffix ʾǎnî, which again means “my” since it is functioning as a possessive personal referring of course to Daniel. It expresses the personal covenant relationship between Daniel and the God of Israel. This noun is the object of preposition lĕ, which is a marker of possession expresses the fact that compassion and forgiveness “belong to” the God of Israel. In other words, Daniel is saying that as to His character and nature, God is compassionate and forgiveness.
ʾělō∙hîm
The noun ʾělō∙hîm means “God,” which emphasizes the transcendent character of the God of Israel, who the New Testament identifies as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This word refers to the Lord’s complete sovereign power over all creation and every creation and over nation and ruler as evidenced by fulfilled prophecy. Daniel’s use of the word indicates that he is appealing to the Lord would sovereignly intervene and restore to the land of Israel and Jerusalem the exiled Jews in Babylon and around the world at the time. The noun ʾělō∙hîm is modified by the first person plural personal pronoun ʾǎnǎḥ·nû means “we” referring to Daniel identifying himself with the nation of Israel in order to intercede on her behalf with God.
rǎ∙ḥǎmîm
This word shows the link between rāḥam, “to have compassion” (Piel) and reḥem/raḥam, “womb,” for raḥămîm can refer to the seat of one’s emotions (Gen 43:30) or the expression of one’s deep emotion (I Kgs 3:26); cf. J. Pedersen, Israel, 1936, pp. 309, 525). raḥămîm recalls in various situations that God’s tender-mercy is rooted in his free love and grace. Hence, God’s punishment is more desirable than man’s wrath (II Sam 24:14). God’s mercy is often combined with his ḥesed “love,” “kindness” and ḥēn “grace,” “unmerited favor.” God’s anger and wrath are the opposite of his loving mercy (Deut 13:18; Zech 1:12; Ps 77:9). In times of captivity (esp. the exile, Dan 9:18) Israel is summoned to repentance on the grounds of God’s fatherlike compassion (II Chr 30:9), and God responds (Isa 54:7). The Psalmist often beseeches God for expressions of his tendermercies to relieve his distress (Ps 51:1 [H 3]) or confesses that undeserved relief is due to God’s tendermercies and grace (Ps 103:4). The eschaton is to witness God’s unconditional and unbroken love and care (Hos 2:19 [H 21]); when Israel repents (Deut 30:3; Isa 55:7; Zech 12:10).
In Daniel 9:9, the noun rǎ∙ḥǎmîm is in the plural and literally means “acts of mercy” or “merciful acts.” Therefore, Daniel is literally saying that acts of mercy belong to God. However, idiomatically, he is saying that as to His nature, God is merciful. So this word describes God as compassionate towards sinners in the sense that He pardons them by withholding judgment. This is illustrated with eternal salvation, God the Father does not judge the sinner when they believe in His Son Jesus Christ. With regards to Israel, God withholds judgment in the sense that He does not completely wipe out the nation of Israel because He loves the nation. He withholds judgment toward Israel when they repent by confessing their sins and obey Him. The articular construction of this noun indicates that this compassion is unique to God since it is rooted in divine essence and in particular it is rooted in His attribute of love.
wa
The conjunction wa is adjunctive meaning that “in addition to” being merciful, God is also forgiving.
Excursus: God’s Mercy
God’s love is “merciful” meaning that God is compassionate towards His enemies and pardons them (Eph. 2:1-7). Ephesians 2:1-7 teaches us that God’s attribute of love causes Him to be “merciful” meaning that God is compassionate towards His enemies and pardons them when they believe in Jesus Christ.
Mercy is God acting upon His policy of grace and withholding judgment. The mercy of God is a manifestation of Who God is and is thus helps to compose His glory (Ex. 34:7).
Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. (NASB95)
Psalm 119:156 Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances. (NASB95)
Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9 The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. (NASB95)
James 5:11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. (NASB95)
David acknowledged and expressed in his song that God had been merciful to him (Ps. 30:1-3; Ps. 86:15; 103:1-14).
The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly manifested the mercy and compassion of God since He is the love of God incarnate who manifested perfectly the character and nature of God, and thus has explained the love of God (cf. Jn. 1:18).
The mercy of God as an expression of the love of God was manifested perfectly to the entire human race through the Father’s sacrifice of His Son at the cross of Calvary and the Son’s willingness to be that sacrifice.
The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the love of God through His mercy and compassion towards members of the human race during His First Advent (Mt. 9:27, 36; 14:14; 15:22, 32; 17:15; 20:30-31, 34; 23:37; Mk. 1:41; 5:19; 6:34; 8:2; 10:47-48; Lk. 7:13; 10:33; 15:20; 17:13; 18:38-39; Lk. 7:13; Jn. 11:35).
The mercy of God is related to the believer’s salvation since God saved us on the basis of His mercy and not on the basis of human merit or actions (Tit. 3:5). God has been merciful to all believers in that He sent His Son to the cross while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:6-8).
In Luke 6:35-36, the Lord taught His disciples to imitate the Father in being compassionate towards their enemies.
Mercy and compassion are chief tenants of the royal family honor code (Matthew 5:7; Jn. 15:9-13; Rm. 12:8; 12:1; 12:9-16; 15:1-2; Ga. 6:2; Eph. 4:30-32; Col. 3:12-14; Jam. 2:8; 1 Jn. 4:16-18; Jude 22).
There are many examples in the Scriptures of divine mercy being expressed towards different individuals and nations throughout history. The Lord even promised mercy upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there were at least 10 regenerate human beings in those cities and yet there weren’t except for Lot and his family (Gn. 18:26). Lot and his family were recipients of God’s mercy (Gn. 19:16).
Ezra and the Jews returning from their Babylonian captivity were also beneficiaries of the Lord’s mercy (Ezr. 9:13). The Lord was time and time again merciful to the rebellious Exodus generation (Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 78:38). His mercy has been, is and will be expressed towards every believer in every dispensation who executes the Lord’s plan for their dispensation (Ps. 103:11). The Lord expressed His mercy towards the Exodus generation when they were slaves to Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Ex. 3:7). His compassion will be expressed towards Israel in the future when they will be regathered from throughout the entire world and restored as client nation to God during the Millennium (Dt. 30:3).
The Lord expressed His mercy towards Israel in the past by sending prophets to warn them of the impending fifth cycle of discipline if they did not repent and adhere to the Law (2 Ch. 36:15). David acknowledged and expressed in his song that God had merciful to him (Ps. 30:1-3; Ps. 86:15; 103:1-14). He is always merciful towards those who are humble and respect Him by joyfully executing His plan (Ps. 34:18-20). David expresses in song that God is merciful towards those who are merciful (Ps. 41:1-3). The Lord has been merciful towards those who’ve accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior (Ps. 107:19-22).
The Lord was merciful to King Hezekiah of Israel and allowed him to live another 15 years (Is. 38:15-20). The Lord through the prophet Jeremiah promised that He would be compassionate to Israel if she turned from her apostasy (Jer. 12:15). As he watched the nation of Israel being led captive into their Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah prophesied that the Lord would be compassionate again and bring them back from the captivity (Lm. 3:32). The Lord has always been compassionate to Israel though she had not recognized it this fact (Ho. 11:4). The Lord promised that He would have compassion upon them and provides a Savior Who would pay for their sins (Mi. 7:19).
selî·ḥā(h)
The noun selî·ḥā(h) is in the plural and literally means “forgivenesses” or “acts of forgiveness.” Therefore, Daniel is literally saying that acts of forgiveness belong to God. However, idiomatically, he is saying that as to His nature, God is forgiving. God is forgiving because of His attribute of love. The articular construction of this noun indicates that this forgiveness is unique to God since it is rooted in divine essence and in particular it is rooted in His attribute of love.
Excursus: Forgiveness
The believer is both object and the subject of forgiveness. The Scriptures present two major subdivisions: (a) the forgiveness of God (b) the personal forgiveness between individuals. The forgiveness of sins is offered to the entire human race by God the Father based upon the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of His Son, the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross.
A person appropriates by means of faith alone in Christ alone the forgiveness of his sins. God bases His forgiveness or receipt of His pardon upon the restitution for sins that Christ voluntarily made for the world. From the earliest mention of forgiveness, the Lord has never discounted nor overlooked our sins. He forgives us because Christ made restitution. Though God made the restitution for us, it was still required to obtain God’s forgiveness. To put it the opposite way: without the restitution payment of Jesus Christ, there would be no forgiveness!
Unbelievers are not judged according to their sins at the Great White Throne Judgment but rather are judged according to their self-righteous human good works, which do not measure up to the perfect work of the impeccable Christ on the Cross (Rev. 20:11-15). The unbeliever goes to the lake of fire because of his rejection of Christ as his Savior.
All of humanity are the objects of God’s forgiveness. Every sin ever committed in human history has been forgiven by God the Father because His justice imputed every sin past, present and future to the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union and judged Him for all them. God has forgiven the sins of every person in history because of His Son’s voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross as their Substitute. The sins of the entire human race are no longer an issue with God. God does not send any one to the Lake of Fire for all of eternity because of their sins since His Son has already received the judgment for them at the cross. The unbeliever goes to the Lake of Fire simply for his rejection of Christ as their Savior.
God the Father sent His Son to the cross in order die for our sins so that He can forgive us. He forgives us based upon His integrity and His Son’s spiritual death on the cross.
1 John 3:5, “He (the Lord Jesus Christ) appeared in order to take away sins.”
1 Timothy 2:4 and John 3:16-17 clearly indicates that God desires all men to be saved, therefore, He has made provision for all men to be saved through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
After conversion the believer is commanded to forgive because God has forgiven him (Eph. 4:32; Co. 3:13). The believer cannot experience the forgiveness of sins and be restored to fellowship, if he does not forgive others according to Matthew 6:14-15 because not forgiving others is a sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual death on the cross is the basis for the forgiveness of sins both in the positional and experiential sense for the believer. At the moment of salvation, when a person makes the non-meritorious decision to believe in Christ for salvation, he appropriates the forgiveness of his sins-past, present and future.
The unbeliever does not appropriate the forgiveness of sins because he has not placed his trust in Christ for salvation. The unbeliever’s sins will never be brought up at the Great White Throne Judgment of unbelievers since Christ paid the penalty for their sins with His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the Cross. They will be judged according to their relative human self-righteous deeds, which do not measure up to the absolute perfect righteousness of Christ (Rev. 20:11-15).
After conversion, the believer “experiences” the forgiveness of sins when he confesses any known sin to the Father. Based upon the merits of the unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross, the Father is faithful and just to forgive the believer and restores the believer to fellowship with Himself.
In the same way that the unbeliever’s sins are not brought up at the Great White Throne so the believer’s sins will never be brought up at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church since the believer’s personal sins were also paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
Positional forgiveness of sins establishes a permanent eternal relationship between God and the believer. The Father saves the person who trusts in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation and this salvation is based upon the merits of the Person of Christ who is impeccable and the merits of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross. The Father honors a person’s faith in His Son (Jn. 5:23). He restores the believer to fellowship based again upon the merits of the Person of Christ who is impeccable and the merits of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
1 John 1:9, “If any of us does confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is, as an eternal spiritual truth, faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and He purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.”
“Forgives” is the verb aphiemi. It is used with God as the subject and the believer’s personal sins as the object. The believer who confesses his personal sins to the Father is promised the forgiveness of his sins and is restored to fellowship immediately upon doing so. He is restored to fellowship because of the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross and thus the Father is faithful and just to forgive the believer his sins.
God’s faithful and just character demands that we be forgiven these personal sins that we confess and restored to fellowship because the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union satisfied or propitiated the Father’s righteous demands that the sins of human history be judged-past, present and future.
This confession of sin is to the Father in private and does not refer to the public acknowledgment of sin. At the moment of salvation the believer received the forgiveness of his sins in the positional sense.
Ephesians 1:7, “In Him (the Lord Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood (metaphor for our Lord’s spiritual death), the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
Although the believer experiences the forgiveness of sins at the moment of salvation, the moment he sins, he must confess these post-salvation sins so that he can once again experience the forgiveness of sins, which has already been appropriated by him at the moment of salvation positionally and will be his for all of eternity. After conversion, the believer “experiences” the forgiveness of sins when he confesses any known sin to the Father. Based upon the merits of the unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross, the Father is faithful and just to forgive the believer and restores the believer to fellowship with Himself.
In the same way that the unbeliever’s sins are not brought up at the Great White Throne so the believer’s sins will never be brought up at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church since the believer’s personal sins were also paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual death on the cross.
Positional forgiveness of sins establishes a permanent eternal relationship between God and the believer. The Father saves the person who trusts in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation and this salvation is based upon the merits of the Person of Christ who is impeccable and the merits of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross. The Father honors a person’s faith in His Son. He restores the believer to fellowship based again upon the merits of the Person of Christ who is impeccable and the merits of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross.
1 John 1:8-10, “If, any of us enters into making the claim that we have never possessed a sin nature, then, we do deceive ourselves and furthermore, the truth is unequivocally not in us. If any of us does confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and purifies us from each and every wrongdoing. If, any of us enters into making the claim that we have never sinned, then, we make Him out to be a liar and furthermore His Word is unequivocally not in us.”
1 John 1:8-10 speaks of the reality that the believer will commit personal sins in his life After conversion. The presence of the old sin nature mentioned by John in 1 John 1:8 in the believer and his volition makes it “impossible” for the believer to experience sinlessness in this life. This does not mean that God condones sin After conversion but simply emphasizes the fact that God has made provision for when the believer does sin After conversion. That provision is the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross, which is referred to in 1 John 1:7 with the phrase “the blood of Jesus.”
The fact that John is not condoning sin but rather is teaching these things is clearly indicated in 1 John 2:1.
1 John 2:1, “My little children, I am providing information in writing at this particular time concerning these things for the benefit of all of you in order that all of you might not enter into committing an act of sin.”
The promise of the forgiveness of sins is of course rooted in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Psalm 103:12-13, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”
Isaiah 53:11, “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.”
Ezekiel 36:24-26, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Jeremiah 31:34, “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Micah 7:18-20, “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham, which You swore to our forefathers from the days of old.”
God is faithful to His promises in the Old Testament to forgive sins. This is what John is referring to here in 1 John 1:9.
The voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union paid the penalty for every sin in human history-past, present and future and is the basis for the forgiveness of sins.
1 John 2:12, “I am providing information in writing at this particular time for the benefit of all of you, little children in view of the fact that for the benefit of all of you, your sins have been forgiven-past, present and future on the basis of His merit.”
Our Lord in the institution of the Lord’s Table speaks of the promise of the forgiveness of sins, which is based upon His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross, which is denoted by the phrase “My blood.”
Matthew 26:28, “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
Our Lord’s “blood” in Scripture is a representative analogy for His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death. Therefore, the promise of the forgiveness of sins is related to this substitutionary spiritual death of Christ, which is denoted in 1 John 1:7 as the “blood of Jesus.”
1 John 1:7, “On the other hand, if any of us does live in the light (in the presence of the Father by living according to the standards of His holiness) just as He Himself is, as an eternal spiritual truth, in essence that light (holy), then, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, do experience fellowship with one another (with the Father) and furthermore, the blood of Jesus, His Son, as an eternal spiritual truth, does cause us to be purified from each and every sin.”
The apostle Paul refers to it as well.
Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
Colossians 1:14, “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Therefore, the Father is faithful to His promise to forgive sin. The forgiveness of sins is made possible by the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross, which is referred to as the “blood of Jesus” in 1 John 1:7 and “My blood” in Matthew 26:28 and “His blood” in Ephesians 1:7.
The apostles proclaimed that this promise of the forgiveness of sins is appropriated through faith in the Lord Jesus because in Him is the fulfillment of all the promises that were made through the Old Testament prophets (Acts 2:14-21; 10:34-44; 13:16-39; 26:1-18; 2 Corinthians 2:18-20).
It is through faith alone in Christ alone that an individual receives the forgiveness of sins. This forgiveness of sins is based entirely upon the merits of the Lord Jesus and His finished work on the cross and for Christ’s sake sins are forgiven (Romans 4:1-17; Ephesians 2:1-9).
The believer is no longer under judgment because of his faith in Christ at the point of salvation.
John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
The believer is no longer under condemnation because of his union with Christ through the baptism of the Spirit.
Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 2:13-14, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
God remembers the believer’s sins no more because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, which required that sin be dealt with by God’s righteous indignation (Psalm 51:1-9).
Hebrews 10:17, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
Hebrews 8:12, “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
The New Covenant to Israel is mentioned by our Lord in instituting the Communion Service in Luke 22:20 and by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:25.
The believer is restored to fellowship with God when he confesses his sins to the Father because the Father is faithful to His covenant and His promise to provide for the forgiveness of sins, which is based upon the substitutionary spiritual death of our Lord on the cross. The believer’s sins are forgiven positionally because God is faithful to His promise to forgive the sins of those who express faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
As we noted, in Christ all the promises of the Old Testament prophets are fulfilled including the forgiveness of sins.
2 Corinthians 1:20, “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”
The Gentiles have been made partakers of the promises to the Israel through faith alone in Christ alone. They are the “wild olive branch” mentioned by Paul in Romans 11.
The believer experiences, that which is true of himself positionally when he confesses his personal sins to the Father. God is faithful to His covenant and promise to forgive the believer’s sins because He was propitiated. This means that He is totally and completely satisfied with the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross as the payment for every sin in human history-past, present and future.
1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, I am providing information in writing at this particular time concerning these things for the benefit of all of you in order that all of you might not enter into committing an act of sin. Now, if anyone does enter into committing an act of sin, then we possess as an Advocate with the Father, Jesus who is the righteous Christ. Furthermore, He Himself is the propitiation with regards to our sins. In fact, He Himself is the propitiation not with regards to our sins only in contrast with the rest of unregenerate humanity, absolutely not, but also with regards to the entire world, without exception and without distinction.”
So the believer who confesses his personal sins to the Father is in a sense reminding the Father of His covenant promise to forgive sins. This is of course is from the human perspective since God does not need to be reminded.
The Father is true to His promise to forgive the sins of those who express faith in His Son. His steadfast fidelity to His promise in His Word to forgive sins obligates the Father to forgive the believer his sins when he confesses them since the believer has met the requirements of the agreement at the moment of salvation when he expressed faith alone in Christ alone.
1 John 1:9, “If any of us does confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is, as an eternal spiritual truth, faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and He purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.”
In 1 John 1:9, John describes the Father’s as dikaios, “just” because the Father executes the judgments of His government that are in perfect agreement with His perfect character and nature and that are also based upon the merits of His Son’s spiritual death on the cross. Therefore, He is dikaios, “just” to execute the law of the forgiveness of sins that is based upon the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross.
It also denotes the agreement between the Father’s nature and His acts. The adjective dikaios here in 1 John 1:9 should be translated “just,” rather than “righteous” since the former more accurately expresses the meaning of the word in the Greek.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the adjective “righteous,” “characterized by uprightness or morality; morally right or justifiable; acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous.”
They define the adjective “just,” “guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness; done or made according to principle; equitable; proper; based on right; rightful, lawful; agreeable to truth or fact; true; correct; given or awarded rightly; deserved; as a sentence, punishment, reward; in accordance with standards or requirements; proper or right; especially in Biblical use, righteous.”
If we paraphrase the definition of “just” we could say that the Father is dikaios, “just” to forgive the believer his personal sins when he confesses them to the Father because: (1) The Father is guided by His attribute of truth, which proclaims the forgiveness of sins to those who have believed in His Son. (2) The Father is guided by His attribute of justice, which executes the judgment of the forgiveness of sins because the righteous demands of the Father have been propitiated by the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross. (3) The Father always operates according to His perfect principles. (4) The Father is equitable because His righteous demands have been propitiated by the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross. (5) The Father always does everything based upon what is right, rightful and lawful and it is right, rightful and lawful to forgive the believer’s his sins when he confesses them because the Father’s righteous demands that the believer’s sins be judged has been propitiated by the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross. (6) The Father always does what is agreeable to His attribute of truth, which proclaims the forgiveness of sins to those who have expressed faith alone in Christ alone. (7) The Father rightly rewards the believer with the forgiveness of his sins experientially when he confesses them to the Father because the Father’s righteous demands that the believer’s sins be judged has been propitiated by the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross. (8) The Father always operates according to His perfect standards and principles because of perfect holy character and nature.
The Father is dikaios, “just” to forgive the believer his sins experientially because the Father always fulfills His promise and His covenant agreement to forgive sins based upon the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross. Those who have expressed faith alone in Christ alone enter into that covenant promise and agreement that provides the forgiveness of sins.
The believer’s confession of sins to the Father points the Father’s attention to His covenant agreement and promise to forgive sin. The believer’s confession of his personal sins to the Father obligates the Father to execute His promise of the forgiveness of sins because the believer has met the requirements of this agreement at the moment of salvation when he expressed faith alone in Christ alone.
The believer experiences the forgiveness of his sins because of the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross have propitiated the Father’s righteous demands that these sins be judged.
Positionally, the believer sins have been forgiven at the moment of salvation but he experiences the forgiveness of sins not only at the moment of salvation but also After conversion when he confesses his sins to the Father.
The justice and righteousness of God are relative attributes related to both men and angels. What the righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes. The righteousness of God demands that the believer’s sins be judged. The Father, because of His attributes of mercy and love did not want to judge the believer for his sins but rather provided a Substitute, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every sin in human history-past, present and future was judicially imputed to the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union and He was judged for these sins. The penalty for these sins was separation from the Father. This occurred the last three hours on the cross.
Matthew 27:46, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’”
The impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union paid the penalty with His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the cross. Voluntary refers to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ chose to go to the cross even though it meant that in His human nature He would suffer loss of fellowship with the Father. Substitutionary means that Christ died in our place as our perfect sacrifice for sin.
Spiritual death refers to separation from the Father.
The Father was propitiated or in other words, totally and completely or perfectly satisfied with the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross. Therefore, the Father can forgive every sin committed in human history-past, present and future because of the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross.
The Lord’s death has merit with the Father because the Son remained experientially pure in His human nature or in other words, He remained impeccable. The Father’s righteousness demanded a perfect individual to make atonement for the sins of the entire human race. This was typified in the selection of animal for the Levitical sacrifices (Lev. 1-5). The Father provided this perfect, impeccable individual, namely His Son. So the righteousness of God demanded that the sins of every person in history-past, present and future should be judged and the justice of God executed that judgment upon the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union.
The covenant promise of the forgiveness of sins is made possible without compromising the divine integrity because the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross propitiated the Father’s righteous demands that sin be judged.
The Father rightly and lawfully forgives the believer his sins when the believer confesses these sins to the Father because the believer has met the requirements of this covenant promise through faith alone in Christ alone.
The believer is justified through faith alone in Christ alone. The believer receives the forgiveness of sins at the moment of salvation because he has been justified by his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and because of His merits as a Person and the merits of His work on the cross, the believer is justified and receives the forgiveness of sins. Paul in Romans 4 teaches this principle of justification by faith.
It is only fair of the Father to forgive the believer his sins when the believer confesses these sins to Him because the believer has met the requirements of this covenant promise through faith alone in Christ alone. The Father is operating in accordance with His own perfect, holy standards and requirements when He forgives the believer his sins since the believer has expressed faith in Christ who propitiated the Father’s righteous demands that sin be judged.
The believer is not only saved and receives positionally the forgiveness of all his sins-past, present and future based upon the merits of the Person and Work of Christ on the cross but he also receives the forgiveness of sins experientially. He is also restored to fellowship After conversion based upon the merits of the Person and Work of Christ on the cross.
Since God’s righteous demands have been met that sin be judged with the death of Christ and His justice has been served through the death of Christ, the Father is free to extend the forgiveness of sins to anyone who expresses faith alone in Christ alone. The Father is not only faithful in extending that offer of forgiveness but He is also just in the execution of that offer as well. It is also essential to understand that the advocacy of the Son at the Father’s right also serves to assure the believer that his sins are forgiven experientially when he confesses them to the Father (1 John 2:1).
The Son’s presence at the right hand of the Father serves as a protection for the believer against the accusations of Satan regarding the believer’s sins (Zech. 3:1-2; 1 Jn. 2:1-2; Rev. 12:10). The Son acts as a defense attorney for the believer when the believer commits an act of sin and the Lord is offering intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of the believer as part of His Great High Priesthood.
The Unpardonable Sin
The Lord stated that the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven in Matthew 12:22-32. What does this mean or what does it not mean? First of all, the Scriptures emphatically teach that the only sin that can’t be forgiven and that sends a person to the eternal Lake of Fire is the rejection of Jesus Christ as one’s own personal Savior. The sin of rejecting Christ as Savior is the reason why people will end up in the eternal Lake of Fire forever and ever. This is not the will of God though because the will of God is that all men be saved. God’s attitude toward the entire human race is that He desires all to believe in His Son Jesus Christ.
John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
1 Timothy 2:4, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Secondly, many expositors state that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was unique to Christ’s First Advent and was the attributing the miracles of Christ to the devil rather than the Holy Spirit, thus defaming the perfect integrity of the Spirit’s witness of Christ. When I say unique I mean that at no time in history have these conditions ever existed where Christ was on the earth performing miracles by means of the Spirit. These expositors are missing the point and the principle, which our Lord is relating in this passage. It is the rejection of the Spirit’s witness concerning the Person of Christ at the point of hearing the Gospel for salvation that is blasphemous and unpardonable and not simply attributing the miracles of Christ to the devil.
To say that the blasphemy of the Spirit only took place during the First Advent of Christ is diminishing the rejection of the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ in subsequent dispensations such as the church age. In other words it is just as much blasphemous today to reject the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ during this dispensation as it was during the First Advent!
To say that the blasphemy of the Spirit was attributing Christ’s miracles to the devil is putting undo emphasis on the rejection of the miracles rather than their rejection of the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ as their Messiah. Remember the miracles of Christ were to demonstrate that He was the Jewish Messiah since the Jews require a sign according to 1 Corinthians 1:22.
The Jews rejection of Christ’s miracles then revealed an even deeper problem among them and that was their negative attitude toward the Spirit’s witness concerning Him. The Spirit witnessed that Christ was the Messiah by performing the miracles for the humanity of Christ. The Spirit employed miracles to convict the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. He doesn’t operate that way today because Christ now sits at the right hand of the Father. He no longer employs miracles to witness to the unbeliever that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah since the Lord no longer resides on planet earth but at the right hand of the Father. So blaspheming the Spirit is not a particular act of sin but rather a negative attitude towards the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ that extends over a lifetime.
It cannot be forgiven because it is the rejection of the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ in common grace over a lifetime. If you reject the Spirit’s repeated attempts over a lifetime to witness that Jesus is the Christ then you will go to the Lake of Fire. I say it is the rejection of the Spirit’s witness of Christ over a lifetime because there were many times before we became born-again and saved that we rejected the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ in common grace.
God is patient, He will offer the Gospel to the unbeliever throughout their lifetime as we noted in 2 Peter 3:9.
We have all been hostile towards God before salvation, were we not?
Colossians 1:19-21, “For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say} whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, {engaged} in evil deeds.”
We have all rejected Christ before salvation and then changed our attitude at some point and trusted in Him as Savior. Therefore, the blasphemy of the Spirit is an attitude that extends over a lifetime that rejects what the Holy Spirit has to say about Jesus Christ and can occur in any dispensation.
The blasphemy of the Spirit is a lifelong, antagonistic and hostile mental attitude towards the Holy Spirit’s witness regarding the Person and Work of Christ at the point of hearing the Gospel for salvation and is not merely attributing the miracles of Christ to the devil. If you reject Christ as Savior, you are rejecting in effect the witness of the Spirit and thus calling the Spirit a liar.
The blasphemy of the Spirit is a lifelong negative attitude towards the Spirit’s work in common grace. The problem was not that the Pharisees rejected the miracles and attributed His miracles to the kingdom of darkness but rather the problem was their negative attitude toward Christ. It is not attributing the miracles to the kingdom of darkness that cannot be forgiven but rather the lifelong rejection of the Spirit’s trustworthy witness concerning Christ at the point of hearing the Gospel for salvation. This is why the Lord said that the blasphemy of the Spirit couldn’t be forgiven.
Furthermore, is it any more blasphemous to reject Christ then as it is today? Is it any more blasphemous to reject the Spirit’s witness concerning Christ then as it is today? Of course not! Therefore, we can conclude that the blasphemy against the Spirit is not unique to the dispensation of the hypostatic union or First Advent of Christ since individuals are rejecting the Holy Spirit’s witness of Christ at the point of hearing the Gospel for salvation even today in our day and age. Thus it can and does occur in every dispensation of history!
The reason why the Lord said that rejection of the Spirit’s witness concerning Himself is blasphemous, and not the rejection of Himself, is because the Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who convicts the unbeliever in common grace. The Holy Spirit in common grace bears witness to the unbeliever that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Common grace refers to that aspect of God’s grace policy, which is directed towards the entire human race, without exception. God the Holy Spirit convicts the unbeliever that he is a sinner and needs a Savior.
The Lord in His Upper Room Discourse mentions this principle.
John 16:7-11, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
Now, in relation to the believer with sin and guilt, he should never feel guilty for their sins but rather should confess their sins and by bringing their thoughts into obedience to Christ (1 John 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin and my iniquity I did not hide. I said will admit my transgressions to the Lord, then You did forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah.”
They should forgive themselves since God has already forgiven them through Christ. Also, the believer who does not confess his unforgiving attitude towards others will not be forgiven by God meaning that the believer will not be restored to fellowship with Him if he does not acknowledge to the Father his unforgiving attitude toward others.
Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men their failures (acknowledging your own sin to the Father and forgive others), Your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their failures (failure to acknowledge your own sin to the Father and forgive others), neither will the Father forgive you (restoration to fellowship), your failures.”
The Scriptures base the forgiveness of one another in the forgiveness of God. Not only is the believer the object of God’s forgiveness but also he has now become the subject of forgiveness since he is to exhibit the same attitude toward others as God has displayed towards him.
Forgiveness of others is an essential function of the spiritual life. It is an essential aspect of divine-love. The believer operates in the love of God will be forgiving since God’s love is forgiving. He will possess a forgiving attitude regardless of the extent of injury to him as a person.
The Lord Jesus Christ exhibited a forgiving attitude on the cross while enduring the greatest suffering that any member of the human race has ever had to endure in history when He received the imputation of the sins of the entire world as well tremendous verbal and physical abuse from other members of the human race. He not only taught it to His students but he also put forgiveness into practice at the cross.
Luke 17:3-4, “Be on your guard for yourselves: if your fellow-believer should sin against you (1st class condition: “and he will”) reprove him and if he should repent, forgive him. Even if 7 times in the course of the day he should sin against you, and 7 times in the course of the day he should return to you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him.”
Luke 23:34, “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive all of them, for they know not what they are doing.’”
His forgiving attitude on the cross while enduring the greatest suffering of any member of the human race in history sets all precedence for the believer here in the church age. The church age believer should also possess a forgiving attitude toward other members of the human race, especially members of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be gracious to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Colossians 3:12-13, “Therefore, put on as the elect of God, separate and beloved, compassionate affections, graciousness, wisdom, humility, patient-endurance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if anyone should have a complaint another, even as the Lord Christ forgave all of you, so also you should forgive others.”
Forgiveness is essential in every human relation: (1) Local Assembly (2) Marriages (3) Friendships.
kî
The conjunction kî means “even though, despite, in spite of” since it has a concessive force indicating that God is merciful and forgiving “even though” or “despite the fact that” Israel rebelled against Him. It denotes that “although” Israel rebelled against Him, God is merciful and compassionate.
mā·rǎḏ
The verb mā·rǎḏ means “to rebel” in the sense of disobeying, opposing and resisting one who is in authority. Here it describes Israel’s sinning which constituted rebellion against God in the sense that their sinning constituted disobeying, opposing and resisting God’s authority over them. So the verb describes sinning against God as in fact rebellion against God’s authority.
The qal stem of the verb mā·rǎḏ is fientive expressing Israel rebelling against God’s authority by disobeying the various commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law. The perfect tense is constative describing in summary fashion Israel’s rebellion against God.
hû(ʾ)
The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) means “Him” referring of course to the God of Israel and is the object of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), which is a marker of opposition indicating that Israel rebelled “against” God.
Translation of Daniel 9:9
Daniel 9:9 “My Lord, our God is merciful as well as forgiving even though we have rebelled against Him.”
Exposition of Daniel 9:9