Israel's Sin, God's Judgment

JUNE 26, 2022 STUDY NOTES DANIEL 9:7-14 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES ISRAEL’S SIN, GOD’S JUDGMENT INTRODUCTION In our last study we compared America today with what Daniel said about Israel, Dan 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: (Sounds like America today) Daniel covers several areas of sinful behavior and rebellion against our merciful God All of which fits America today: “We have sinned,” we missed the mark, we failed to serve you “We have committed iniquity,” we bent the rules, we twisted the truth, stood against the truth “We have done wickedly,” we stand guilty before God because we acted wickedly “We have rebelled,” we resisted your authority and stood against your Word “We have departed from thy precepts,” we walked away from your commandments American government has removed the 10 Commandments from public display Because American society wants to play without giving attention to God’s rules “And from thy judgements,” America has turned away from God’s instructions for life America has turned away from the Word of God and has failed to listen to God Daniel said that Israel was wrong, and God was right It is time for America to learn that God is right, but what will it take for us to learn? Dan 9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. Daniel calls upon the “righteous” God, who is always right in all-of His ways, in all that He does His righteousness demands that He punish all unrighteousness He is righteous in His punishment of the wicked (Revelation 16:1-7; 19:2) His righteousness demands that He provide a way of salvation for sinful man, Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. God’s attitude is always right, God’s actions are always right, it is always right to obey God, Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Many want to believe that God is only right when He forgives and blesses His people Daniel said, God was right when He judged Israel for her unfaithfulness and disobedience It was not God’s fault that Israel had to be punished, God had not failed Israel, Israel failed God Too often people want to blame God when things are not right for them I have heard people say, “I am mad at God,” or “why didn’t God do something about this?” They do not understand the truth of God, the truth of themselves, or the truth of this world Daniel understood the truth of himself, the truth of his people Israel, and the truth of sin Daniel did not make excuses, he did not complain, he did not blame God, Daniel confessed And Daniel includes himself, he says, “but unto us confusion of faces” He begins with a contrast, “but,” his contrast is between God and Israel Between the righteousness of God and the sin, shame, and guilt of Israel “Confusion of faces” has the meaning of a face of shame, guilt, and disgrace Page 1 of 5 Which is certainly not the opinion of American society, sin is on parade for all to see today We live in a shameless society filled with people unashamed of sin, living in open sin And too many Christians no longer blush at sin, they joke and laugh about sin They believe that sin is old school, OT, and we live in a modern acceptable society What the Bible calls sin is now called life, it is called living, “living it up” Sin is still sin, and God will still judge sin today just as He did with Israel Daniel said unto the Lord, “you have driven them,” God had scattered Israel, why? “Because of their trespass” against God, their unfaithful actions against God’s will Dan 9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. Daniel repeats the fact of Israel’s shame, guilt, and disgrace as found in verse 7 Which reveals how sincere Daniel was in his confession before God, Daniel knew the problem Sin had brought shame upon the whole nation, from its leaders to the common people Daniel said, “we have all sinned against thee,” which is the truth of sin Sin is always against God, regardless of what sin it is, or who commits it, it is sin against God People are condemning sins in the lives of others while living in unconfessed sins God’s Word proclaims that sin is sin, regardless of who commits it Daniel now praises God for being a merciful and forgiving God (Wake up America, He still is) Dan 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Israel had “rebelled” against God, they had resisted the authority of God But there was still hope for Israel because of God’s mercy and forgiveness Notice that both are written in the plural, emphasizing the extent of each one Daniel’s prayer is a plea unto the compassion of God for sinners, which is His mercy If God was not merciful and compassionate there would be no forgiveness at all God’s forgiveness means that there is no longer a record of your sins standing before God The vastness of the earth is used to illustrate the extent of God’s forgiveness, Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. It does not matter how far east you go, you will not reach the west Regardless of how far east you go, you will not reach the place where the sun comes up Confessed sins are gone, just as the song says, “my sins are gone” (Praise God, He will forgive) How far should we go to show our appreciation for His forgiveness? We show our appreciation by obeying God, which Israel failed to do, they continued to disobey Dan 9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. This is the same confession as found in verse 6 Israel heard “the voice of the Lord,” but they refused “to walk in his laws” “Walk” refers to the conduct or behavior of a person’s life, the pathway of one’s life Israel had been instructed to walk in the ways of the Lord, Deu 28:9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. God promised to bless Israel as they walked in obedience to His Word The teachings of the Lord had been “set before” Israel, right before their very face Israel faced the judgment of God because they would not face up to His teachings Dan 9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not Page 2 of 5 obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. Daniel did not make excuses for himself or anyone else in Israel, “Yea, all Israel” “All Israel” had transgressed God’s law, “departing” from it (Sounds like America today) They over-stepped God’s law and walked in their selfish and sinful ways Because of their disobedience, “the curse” was “poured upon” them “The curse” identifies with a specific curse already promised by God God had promised to bless Israel for their obedience, but they had disobeyed God had promised to judge the disobedience of Israel, Deu 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: These words of Moses are an amazing prophecy of Israel’s future from the time of Moses Moses warned Israel of the consequences of unbelief and disobedience A conditional promise, “if” you do not obey my commands, “then” the curses will come And the curses did come, sufferings, tribulation, worldwide dispersion, and captivity God promised Israel that curses would come upon them, Deu 28:45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: The curses came because they did not listen to God and did not obey God “Destroyed” does not mean annihilation, but devastation, Israel was devastated God had revealed to Israel, “why” they would experience devastation, Deu 28:47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; If Israel had obeyed God, they would have experienced joy, gladness, and abundance God had revealed to Israel what their experience of devastation would be, Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Watch out America) The book of Daniel begins with the fulfillment of this prophecy, Dan 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. Daniel knew that the captivity of Israel was because they had sinned against God And Daniel knew that God had kept His promise AS GOD HAD PROMISED Dan 9:12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. God had fulfilled the words that He had spoken, just as He said He would God’s judgment overruled whatever earthly judges had to say God’s judgment upon Israel was stated “as a great evil” The word “evil” is used with various meanings, it can mean “pain or disaster” It can be used to describe a negative aspect of something that has happened, a bad or evil event Such as major storms that America has experienced, they are therefore bad, evil, or a calamity The Babylonian captivity was a major disaster upon Israel, unlike any other at the time Unlike any other judgment of any other nation because Israel was God’s chosen nation Which is why Israel will experience even more severe judgment in the future, Amo 3:2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Page 3 of 5 Why Israel? Because out of all other nations, out “of all the families of the earth” Israel is God’s chosen nation, God revealed Himself to Israel God’s covenants are with Israel, which covers His blessings and His judgments God chose to reveal Himself to all other nations through the nation of Israel Israel thought, “therefore,” God will overlook our sins, God will excuse “us,” we are His nation But God’s “therefore” was, “I will punish you for all your iniquities” God had revealed Himself to Israel through His blessings upon them They should have turned from sin and repented of sin, because of His blessings But they continued to live in disobedience and rebellion against God’s revelation Daniel knew why Israel had been judged and taken captive, it was just----AS GOD HAD WRITTEN Dan 9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. All Israel had to do to escape God’s judgment was to listen, learn, and live as God said The law of God had not only been spoken it had been written and explained That which came upon Israel was again described as “evil,” meaning a “calamity” Pain and disaster that could have been avoided if Israel had prayed before the “LORD” Seeking God through prayer would have turned them from their iniquities Seeking God’s Word would have given them understanding of God’s truth When people do not seek the Lord, sin and iniquity is their only path of life When people do not seek the Lord, they have no understanding of the truth of life True repentance is turning to God, turning from evil, and desiring to live the truth No one truly turns from sin and iniquity until they truly repent when turning to God Repentance will reveal the truth of God’s righteousness, God’s actions are always right GOD IS RIGHTEOUS Dan 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. A common phrase of today is, “not on my watch,” which is exactly what God said God was “watching over” the evil of Israel, God was “watching over” His Word God was watching over Israel and saw that Israel was not “watching over” God’s Word God was “watching over” Israel as He “watched” His Word being fulfilled God “watched over” the calamity that fell upon Israel Therefore, God was right in His judgment brought upon Israel The calamity brought upon Israel was from the hand of God And Daniel states again why God’s hand of judgment was brought upon Israel “We obeyed not his voice,” a truth that Daniel has repeated over and over, Dan 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: We did not give attention to your word sent to us by the prophets (vs. 6) We have trespassed against thee (vs. 7) We have sinned against thee (vs. 8) We have rebelled against the Lord (vs. 9) We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord and have not walked in His ways (vs. 10) All Israel has transgressed the law of the Lord, we have sinned against him (vs. 11) We did not pray before the Lord, and we did not turn from our iniquities (vs. 13) We obeyed not his voice (vs. 14) We have sinned, we have done wickedly (vs. 15) America, pay attention, America beware, God is “watching” Page 4 of 5 CONCLUSION The only hope for America is to call upon God and confess sins, listen to Daniel I set my face unto thee Lord God (vs. 3) I prayed unto the Lord my God (vs. 4) O Lord (vs. 7, 8, 16, 19) The Lord our God (vs. 9, 10, 15, 17) My God hear (vs. 18-19) It is time for Christians to present the truth to America that Daniel proclaimed to Israel (vs 14) “For the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.” (We must trust and obey) Listen to the song Page 5 of 5