“‘And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!’”
“And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!”
Beginning with this verse, Daniel prays for the restoration of Israel to her land (9:15-19). He reminds God of when, in great power, He restored Israel from captivity in Egypt. Daniel recites precedence. He appeals to God’s reputation in doing this.
Daniel delineates acts of God’s past grace to Israel. God made a name for Himself by His great acts of power in Moses’ day. Israel did not deserve to be liberated from Egypt, but God delivered them in grace.
This is no self-serving request, for Daniel appeals to the reputation of God’s name for these things to be accomplished.
PRINCIPLE:
Humility is the foundation for confession.
APPLICATION:
We do not deserve to be liberated from our sin and discipline from God, but He will extend His grace to us if we confess our sins. We do not deserve this, but God gives it because of the sacrifice of His Son. God is faithful to us even though we do not deserve it.
We appeal to the essence of God for grace to get back into fellowship with God. All forgiveness must line up with God’s grace provision of sacrifice for our sins. God always operates according to His character. He never responds to us according to our character. God’s love and God’s righteousness are satisfied in the cross of Christ.
As God delivered the Egyptians with a mighty hand, He will deliver us with a mighty hand. God does the work, so God gets the glory.
