Confess Wholeheartedly
Confess Wholeheartedly
THE POINT
Confession and repentance keep us close to God.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Question 1:
What’s your favorite place to hide when you don’t want to be found?
Have you ever tried to paint just one spot in a room? Many years ago, my sweet bride decided we should change out a picture in the living room. When I took down the old picture, the wall behind it was a different color. No problem, I could just touch up that spot. Nope. Didn’t work. The touch-up color was still obvious. I was going to have to paint the whole wall.
Then she suggested since I was going to have to paint the wall anyway, maybe “we” could move the aquarium off that wall into the den. OK. She had wanted to move the dining room to where the den was. All I would need to do would be to move my books to the church. Then we could move the old den into what was now my office. The den could become the dining room. GREAT!
My advice through the years has been, “Save your marriage. Throw away the old paint!”
Daniel contrasted His great and awe-inspiring God with the wickedness of the people’s sin. The result was a powerful plea for forgiveness and restoration.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Daniel 9:3-6
3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands— 5 we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the people of the land.
Daniel had plenty of time to think; he had been in Babylon for over sixty-five years. He reflected on Jeremiah’s message that God’s people would live seventy years as captives in Babylon (Jer. 25:8-14; 29:10). The end of those years was approaching.
Beginning with the word “So” in Daniel 9:3 raises a question. Why did pondering the words of Jeremiah’s prophecy cause Daniel to respond and seek God with actions related to repentance, mourning, and self-abasement?
- Maybe Daniel was heartbroken as he recalled how Jeremiah spoke of God’s pending judgment (Jer. 4:18-22).
- Maybe he was recalling how the Jews had rebelled and disobeyed God (1 Kings 9:7-9).
- Maybe Daniel saw the fulfillment of God’s predictive prophecy as a reminder of His holiness and trustworthiness. As had happened during Isaiah’s vision, being reminded of God’s holiness may have accentuated Daniel’s feelings of uncleanness (Isa. 6:1-5).
The last option seems to be the most likely. Daniel began by proclaiming the Lord is great and awe-inspiring, and then he immediately countered with the confession of sin, wrong-doing, and rebellion.
Whatever his motivation, Daniel was determined to converse with the Almighty. Thus, Daniel “turned” his attention to God, a Hebrew verb that literally means to “give one’s face.” The term may indicate Daniel was face-down on the ground in prayer. Wholeheartedly, Daniel cried to God, determined to speak and to hear what the Lord had to say. His prayer is one of the longest in the Bible.
Scripture portrays Daniel was a good and godly man. He lived with integrity. In discussing those who lived righteously, the prophet Ezekiel put Daniel in the company of Noah and Job, two who exhibited impeccable integrity and unwavering faith (Ezek. 14:14,20). Additionally, the book of Hebrews alludes to Daniel in the roll call of those who demonstrated great faith (Heb. 11:32-33).
Despite his integrity and faithfulness, Daniel still came before the Lord repenting with sackcloth and ashes. He was confessing and repenting for his own sins and those of the nation. What is repentance? “Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of action.”1
Daniel’s prayer is a reminder of the importance of confession and repentance for a child of God. Confession and repentance are essential for a healthy relationship with God. Simon Peter said, “Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19-20a).
When I was fresh out of college, I had the privilege of working with Pastor Elmer Sharp in East Tennessee. I remember him saying, “The strongest Christians are those who are willing to confess and repent of sin. Failing to do so only hardens our hearts.” In the years since, I have found that to be true. Daniel exhibited the importance of confession and repentance.
Question 2:
Why is confession so important in our lives?
Daniel 9:7-10
7 Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you. 8 Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. 9 Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the Lord our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.
- Rebellion. God had given His people every opportunity to repent. He had sent prophets to speak to everyone, from the king in his palace to the beggar on the street. Yet none would listen. The result was God’s judgment—His people being taken from their homelands into Babylonian captivity. The Jewish people, having been banished to faraway lands, was evidence of God’s righteous judgment for their disloyalty and disobedience.
When I was in elementary school, we had a teacher who would punish an unruly student by drawing a circle on the chalkboard and have the student stand with his or her nose in the circle. I am certain, by the way, that I never received such punishment. Innocent! Innocent! Innocent! Well, that’s my story, and, you know, I’m sticking to it.
The children of Israel could not claim innocence. Being banished testified to their guilt. Their current condition was nothing short of public shame. Daniel included himself in the indictment: “public shame belongs to us” and “we have sinned” (emphasis added). Daniel was brutally honest in his description of the people’s disobedience and rebellion. The reason for the harshness was because this was a confession by Daniel (vv. 4,20). To confess is not the act of merely saying the right words; it is to agree and have the same opinion about our sin that God has. Daniel’s words are harsh because he was confessing how seriously God takes our sin and its results.
- Response. Daniel didn’t focus solely on sin and the damage it had done to the people’s relationship with God. He countered that focus with descriptions of God’s grace and compassion, abundantly poured out on His people.
Daniel used three words to describe God’s very core; these form the foundation of how God responded to man’s disloyalty and disobedience.
1. Righteousness. The essence of the God Daniel worshiped and served was righteousness; He is holy and righteous—and wholly righteous. That is, He always acts in a way that is right, moral, and just, even when we may not understand.
Even God’s punishment is righteous and not worse than people deserve. Astonishingly, after the plague of hail, even pharaoh saw that the God of Moses was righteous: “Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. ‘I have sinned this time,’ he said to them. ‘The Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones’” (Ex. 9:27).
David similarly spoke of God’s righteous character: “The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed” (Ps. 103:6).
2. Compassion. He is a compassionate God. The Hebrew Old Testament has five different words translated “compassion.” The one in Daniel 9:9 is the word for “womb.” It conveys the act of the more powerful entity (in this case, God) nurturing and protecting one that is vulnerable or helpless. What a powerful word for Daniel to use after he and the children of Israel had been carried away into captivity. Even in His judgment, God nurtured and protected His own. (See also Neh. 9:30b-31.)
3. Forgiveness. Other ancient Near Eastern religions had no concept of a God who would willingly and graciously forgive. The Egyptians believed their gods gave spiritual favors only in response to offerings made to them. Sumerians and Babylonians believed that observing certain rituals, including exorcisms, was the way to deal with sin. None of their gods would respond to a person confessing or repenting of wrongdoing. The Lord, though, offers forgiveness as an expression of His faithful love for sinful people (Ps. 32:5).
Question 3:
Since God is righteous, compassionate, and forgiving, why do we sometimes delay our confession of sin?
Engage
Corporate Confession
Daniel identified with the sin of his people. List four areas of national sin that believers might confess to God. Then write a prayer of confession.
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My Prayer:
Daniel 9:17-19
17 Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake. 18 Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. 19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.
Daniel began his prayer by expressing his humility, by declaring that he was addressing the “Lord my God”—the great and awe-inspiring God (9:4). He approached the end of his prayer by emphasizing his lowly estate.
- Our Humility. Like Daniel, we should always approach God only with an attitude of humility. Scripture teaches that, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). Further, God requires of us “to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with [Him]” (Mic. 6:8).
- God’s Honor. Daniel moved beyond his concern for “the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel” (Dan. 9:7). He wanted to make sure God’s name was honored. Daniel prayed for God to restore both His desolate sanctuary and the city that bears His name. Daniel was anxious about the disastrous condition of the city and the temple, but also that of its people.
Daniel’s apprehension was that the rough condition of the place and its people would reflect poorly on God’s nature in the eyes of unbelieving and ungodly skeptics. Thus, he prayed that God would act on behalf of the sanctuary, city, and people—for His name’s sake. This was a prayer of a truly godly man. Despite his own condition and suffering, his attention was focused on what others would think about the God whom he worshiped and loved. He was concerned about the Lord’s reputation.
Question 4:
How does confession impact our community?
Here at the conclusion of Daniel’s prayer, he implored God to forgive. In almost staccato fashion, he begged God to hear, listen, forgive, and act. Daniel prayed, believing that God would act, and hopefully would do so without delay. We can have the same assurance. God does hear when we call out to Him. We have a God who hears and who responds. He is indeed a great and awe-inspiring God!
Question 5:
How can our group foster an environment where transparency and forgiveness are valued?
LIVE IT OUT
Confession and repentance keep us close to God. Choose one of the following applications:
Rejoice. As you spend time with God this week, compile a written list of attributes that show Him to be great and awe-inspiring. Add to your list daily. Then affirm these attributes to Him in prayer. Let this be your offering of praise.
Repent. Ask God to show you where sin has crept into your life, where you have “fallen short” of what you ought to be or do. Confess those to God and ask for His forgiveness.
Restore. If there are areas in which your sin has negatively affected your relationship with others, confess those sins to them and ask for their forgiveness. Explain that God is at work in you, and as a result, you want to make things right.
