URC Daily Devotion 7 September 2024
Daniel 9: 1 – 19
In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, must be fulfilled for the devastation of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying,
‘Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments, we have sinned and done wrong, acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
‘Righteousness is on your side, O Lord, but open shame, as at this day, falls on us, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. Open shame, O Lord, falls on us, our kings, our officials, and our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
‘All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. So the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against you. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers, by bringing upon us a calamity so great that what has been done against Jerusalem has never before been done under the whole heaven. Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us. We did not entreat the favour of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and reflecting on his fidelity. So the Lord kept watch over this calamity until he brought it upon us. Indeed, the Lord our God is right in all that he has done; for we have disobeyed his voice.
‘And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made your name renowned even to this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, let your anger and wrath, we pray, turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become a disgrace among all our neighbours. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, and for your own sake, Lord, let your face shine upon your desolated sanctuary. Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!’
Reflection
Like me, you may have got to the end of this passage and felt thoroughly depressed. There is a lot going on and not much of it is good. As prophets often say, despite all that God has done, the people abandon God and in response God brings disaster on the people.
Yes, there is a lot going on and much of it is familiar. Just look at our news headlines – things in our world and our times are not good, and certainly not as God intended. Whether it’s the climate crisis, war, refugees forced from their homes by these events, and countless other crises of which humans tend to be at the root.
But what is familiar is not only events and how the prophet is feeling but also, and perhaps more importantly, the prayer that is offered in response.
Our prophet speaks from the heart when he looks at all the people have done and says simply, ‘God, we’ve messed up’.
Our prayers are similar, we offer thanks and praise to God and then turn round and say, ‘God, you’ve done so much for us and we’ve thrown it back in your face. We’re sorry, help us.’
I’m not sure whether to be comforted by knowing that similar prayers have been said for millennia, or to be disheartened that nothing has changed.
But there is something about actions as part of confession. The prophet speaks of fasting, and sackcloth and ashes to go with his confession. I wonder if we can be accused of paying lip service to our confession. We offer words but do little else. Now I’m not suggesting we go around wearing sackcloth, and for many, fasting would not be healthy, but how can we respond to confession?
Perhaps we can make Kingdom building part of our prayers of confession – peace-making, social justice, consciousness raising …
Prayer
Loving Lord, we’ve messed up, forgive us, and spur us to action to make better our world, as we work for your coming Kingdom. Amen