Theme: A shared reality and difficulty.
We’re covering two very important, yet difficult topics today: 1. Personal responsibility before God and 2. Understanding the “why” of God’s will. I’m going to frame today’s study by referring to #1 as the “reality” and #2 as the “difficulty.”
Up to this point in our study of Daniel, in all the stories we have covered, God’s people have been the protagonists and foreign entities have been the antagonists. In simpler terms, the problems we have covered have been orchestrated and implemented by unbelieving rulers and individuals. Daniel, his friends, and the people of Judah have been the victims of such abuse. Because we have been looking at this limited window of context, it’s easy to forget that God’s people were not heroes or righteousness in this history. Today, as we reach what is really the most important chapter in Daniel’s book, we are reminded that everything we have covered came about as a result of the unfaithfulness of God’s people in Judah. Daniel gives us the extended view of the history.
Throughout our study we’ve learned many valuable lessons. Faithfulness to God. Humility before God. Trust in God in extreme trails. Patience and longsuffering in the midst of disaster. Each one of these important lessons in Daniel, and wherever else we find them in Scripture, are meant to bring us to the theme of chapter 9 – repentance before God and hope through His mercy. Faith is not about academic lessons that we learn and get better at mastering in our lives. Faith is about having Christ. The themes and lessons of the prior chapters have brought us to the theme of chapter 9 – so also this is the purpose of every other truth (doctrine) from God’s Word. Every word of God’s truth is important – but it ultimately it is meant to bring us to Christ. And one’s relationship with Christ is personal – therefore, these themes also necessitate responsibility. No matter what happens to us in life or what others do to us that is unfair, the single most important truth of faith remains what Christ has done for you – and to focus on that you need to retain personal responsibility.
Too often, people become victims in a totalistic sense, meaning, they never get back to their personal responsibility after they have been wronged or mistreated. Therefore, despite the many atrocities we’ve seen from Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and many others – and the lessons of faith we’ve gained from them – God brings us back to consider our own hearts. Daniel’s entire emphasis is that no matter what happened to him, or any other person, the single most important thing for them was confessing their sins before God so that they would be forgiven. This is the most important lesson, and it is only between you and God. Every other lesson from God is meant to bring you closer to that most important reality.
So, Daniel brought it back to the beginning, saying: Righteousness is yours, Lord, but we are filled with shame this day—we the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, both near and far, in all the lands where you have banished them because of the treachery with which they betrayed you. 8 Lord, we are filled with shame—our kings, our officials, and our fathers, who sinned against you. 9 Acts of compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God by walking according to his laws that he set before us through the hand of his servants, the prophets.
This reality is not to excuse the prevalence of wickedness, injustice, and persecution in this world – those things abound. Rather, God’s intention, even through those realities, is to keep your faith alive and strong, and to do that He needs to re-focus you on your responsibility in the matter. Unless an individuals has been flawless in the things Daniel states, righteousness, obedience, listening to God’s Word and those who teach it, showing compassion and forgiveness to others – you have no reason to avoid personal responsibility.
The danger in embracing the victim mentality is that it gives us a reason to think that our personal responsibility is no longer important, or in the least, not as important as what others are doing to us. But in every activity – God is trying to bring you back to considering yourself as an individual before His divine nature and immutable will. He does not want you to avoid that reality – which really has eternal consequences. This reality about personal responsibility brings directly to the difficulty – understanding the “why” of God’s will.
Sometimes, the more we dig into faith in Jesus the harder it becomes and the more strain it puts on our senses. This is not to discourage you from growing in your faith, or in seeking answers to questions of faith. Rather, it is simply an attempt to be honest about the struggle of engaging in this as a sinner before God. Here’s the dilemma. God created all humans as rational and emotional creatures. This means we have the ability to perceive and sense the divine nature of God, even if we are unable to fully comprehend or accept it. We are different from animals and plants – the other living creatures of the world – because we are designed with an ability to perceive God – and even more than that – to have a union with Him.
And as it is with all created things – you prosper best when you do what you were created to do. So, avoiding the reality of God is not going to work for our lives. It does not help us. We were made to perceive God and to have a relationship with God. But because of the fallenness of our natures, the more we attempt to be in union with God, the harder it becomes. The more we attempt to do what we were created to do in this way, the more questions surface, the more inconsistencies of our natures are brought to light, the more concerns we have about life here on earth as it is now. And naturally, we want to avoid what makes us uneasy or what reveals our limitations.
Personal responsibility now comes back into the picture. As Daniel states, to truly commune with God one must deny himself. The path to God must come through humility and repentance because 1) we are not equal to God and 2) we are sinners who are naturally separate from God. But no person feels inclined by nature to embrace repentance and humility.
When we look at the “Why” of God’s will, the answer is that it is meant to bring us closer to Christ. This is why God allowed the judgment to happen to Judah. This is why God allows hardship, temptation, and persecution to come into your life. So these difficulties are meant to bring us back tot eh reality – trust in Jesus by faith on an individual, personal level.
So, what we see through this chapter is that, not only is there more than what we typically think about as it concerns the difficulty we face (there’s a loving plan from God behind all that), there’s also much more than we typically think about as it concerns the blessings that come out of following God. Taking personal responsibility is hard, and easily avoided, but it is also a tiny step on the path to receiving eternal blessings from God.
The imagery of the 70 weeks was given to describe God’s plan for bringing people into union with Him by faith. This would start with re-establishing true worship in Israel – the restoration of God’s people going home and rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple (the first seven weeks). The next step would be the arrival of Jesus – the fulfillment of God’s long-standing promise to send a Savior that was first given to Adam and Eve (the next 62 weeks). And the final step was the work of that Savior – offering His own life as a payment for our sins and thereby nullifying Satan’s claim to humanity through the just curse of God’s law (the final week).
Jesus, therefore, provides the only true and coherent answer to the both the reality of personal responsibility before God and the difficulty in discerning the “why” of God’s will. Jesus provides clarity and peace to both. We emphasize personal responsibility because faith in Jesus is a gift to the individual. It does not change the pain or disastrous effects that can come about at the hands of others. But Jesus also provides fulfillment to our desire to see why God does what He does. Every word God has spoken, every action God has committed, every step God leads you upon in your life, is meant to bring you closer to Jesus. You may not always understand how God is doing this, but that doubt is of lesser importance to your life than the truth that you can trust God is doing it.
Notice how Daniel points to the work of God through Jesus in this chapter. He comes back again and again to it as his hope – as his reason for confessing his sins.
v. 4: O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps
His covenant and mercy with those who love Him.
v. 9 :To the LORD belong mercy and forgiveness,
though we have rebelled against Him. (Grace)
v.17: For the LORD’s sake, cause Your face to
shine on Your sanctuary.
v. 18 For we do not present our supplications
before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
Gabriel to Daniel v.23: “you are greatly
loved.”
Daniel did not complain or wallow in self-righteousness because he was being mistreated by others. Daniel did not rebel against God because God allowed this. Daniel accepted his role in the matter – even though there were other factors beyond his control. It was not Daniel’s fault that the nation of Israel had forsaken so much. It was not Daniel’s fault that they tolerated idol-worship. It was not Daniel’s fault that they rebelled against God’s will. But, Daniel knew the guilt was collective because they were all sinners.
And Daniel’s willingness to deny himself created an opening in his heart for Jesus to fill. This led to greater peace, hope, and sense of purpose than Daniel could ever have achieved on his own. And Daniel confessed exactly how he received such a tremendous gift. In mercy, God acted for His own sake (out of His own power), to keep His long-standing covenant that He would forgive the sins of the repentant. – that is how Daniel was forgiven.
This, too, is the heritage of faith you share with Daniel. It’s why we can study the narrative of his life in Scripture and benefit from it today for our lives – not just in learning moral lessons for wisdom or good behavior, but to be truly restored and forgiven by the same Savior in the exact same way as Daniel. This is the heritage that is so often clouded and obscured by the craft of man’s vanity, as churches become beacons and havens for humanism rather than justification by faith in Christ. This is the heritage that was restored from such a fate at the time of the Reformation. Each one of you has been blessed by God to have been raised upon such a foundation and to have the opportunity to daily build upon it.
But just as it was for Daniel and for Martin Luther, so it is with us. No shortage of dangers surround our faith. The need to be diligent, faithful in Scripture and the Sacraments, and walking with wisdom and love is just as great. The reality and the difficulty continue – but in all things they point us to Jesus. May it ever be to His glory – Amen.
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