3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. – Daniel 9:3
Jerusalem & Daniel
In the last devotion we looked at the personification of Jerusalem during the exile. Sitting in loneliness like a widow as a consequence of her unfaithfulness. Her desperate plight was an illustration of Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Today I want to look at the prayer of Daniel as it relates to Jerusalem’s restoration. Daniel’s prayer is a good illustration of James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Good Bye Jerusalem
Daniel was no stranger to the plight of Jerusalem. As a young man of probably thirteen or fourteen years of age, he was carried away from Jerusalem as one of the captives taken to Babylon. He was a well educated member of the royal family of Judah. While Jerusalem was being plundered, Daniel’s world was being shattered. At an age when most boy’s are concerned with a changing voice, acne and girls, Daniel is marched off to a foreign land with a power hungry king. But Daniel constantly portrays a conviction that he totally agrees with the meaning of his name, “God is my judge.”
Faithful In Babylon
Throughout the book of Daniel, we see his faithfulness to his God. Daniel would not compromise his diet and eat the kings food which had most likely been sacrificed to pagan gods. Just as he would not defile himself with king Nebuchadnezzar’s food, he would not defile himself with king Belshazzar’s wealth. He declined the gifts the king tried to give him for interpreting the writing on the wall.
When king Darius issued a decree that no prayers could be offered to any other god or man besides himself for thirty days, Daniel defied Darius and stayed true to Yahweh. Despite the fact that the Temple sacrifices were no longer being made, Daniel continued to pray three times a day, in correlation with the Temple sacrifice schedule, just as he always had. Although roughly eighty years old at the time, Daniel would rather face the lions than sin against his God.
Consistently Faithful
From a young man carried away from his home, to an old man faithfully serving in a prominent position in the most powerful country in the world, Daniel was a consistently faithful model. His God was so great that he was not intimidated by the likes of kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar or Darius. His reputation was so impeccable that his peers could not find a fault in his service to the king or his character. As an incredible testimony to Daniel, the only way they could “get him” was to attack his commitment to God. Unless you think I am exaggerating the integrity of Daniel, look what God inspired the prophet Ezekiel to write.
12 And the word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God. – Ezekiel 14:12-14
Daniel Convicted
The righteousness of Daniel may not have stayed the hand of God, preventing it from punishing faithless Jerusalem, but Daniel remained faithful to the will of God. While reading the writings of his contemporary Jeremiah, Daniel was convicted. Stimulated by Jeremiah’s declaration that the Exile will last seventy years, Daniel turns to God with a prayer of confession. As we see in today’s verse, Daniel turned his face to God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas of mercy with sackcloth and ashes. Pause to take that all in for a second.
Taken away from his home as a gifted young man with so much potential. Tested again and again by powerful foreign kings. Faithful in his service to those in authority for decades without compromising his faith or his witness. Thrown to the lions in his advanced age. Despite his positions of leadership he was never too busy to bend his knees in prayer. Approaching the end of his life his fire is still burning and his passion for Jerusalem is very much alive. Although God has promised to restore Jerusalem, He has chosen a difficult medium; repentance. Despite his outwardly untarnished appearance, Daniel knows his heart. Like all men, he too is a sinner. To his knees he goes one more time.
Daniel’s Humble Prayer
Think about the humility of Daniel. If I had endured what he did and witnessed the things that he did, Jeremiah’s prophesy of a return to Jerusalem probably would have caused me to jump and shout for joy, even as an eighty year old man. Not Daniel. Instead of celebrating, Daniel is sacrificing. When this righteous servant of God seeks God’s face he does so with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. Content with feasting on God’s Word as revealed to Jeremiah, he denies himself earthly food. Not only does Daniel deny himself physical nourishment, he also denies himself comfort as he exchanges his clothes for sackcloth. As a final act of self abasement, Daniel proceeds to cover himself with ashes.
While Jerusalem is sitting lonely because of her sins, Daniel is standing tall on his knees before the face of God.
Daniel. A giant of the Faith. A Prophet of God. A recipient of heavenly visions. An interpreter of dreams. A man of great political power.
Daniel. A sinner in great remorse with no delusions of who he is before a perfect God.
Daniel. A willing vessel passionate about being used by God to carry out His will for Jerusalem and the nations.
Wrestling with God in humility may not be as “glamorous” as surviving a lion’s den, but Daniel’s humble prayer of repentance may be his greatest “legacy”.
How different things might be if we would seek the face of God with the humility of Daniel!!