A Common Thread

Several years into the Babylonian captivity, after God has made His name known and revered in the whole Babylonian and Medo-Persian empire, Daniel recalls the prophecies of Jeremiah and is moved to tears, confession and repentance. Daniel gave long days to fasting, sack-cloth and ashes and heart-wrenching prayer. And he said, "Give ear, O God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. [9:18 NIV]"

Amidst judgment and punishment, Daniel was aroused to say that Jehovah is merciful. With the city and the holy temple in ashes, with his people scattered to the four winds and he himself a eunuch in the court of heathens, Daniel calls God a God of great mercy. Daniel knew that his people were brought low by the hand of God. Conversely, they would be rescued and made to stand by the that same Hand.

God's grace is a consistent theme in Scripture. As is our salvation on the basis of that grace alone.

Daniel says, "We make requests of you, not because we are righteous but because of Your great mercy." Not because we are righteous. Not because we consent to our punishment. Not because we have confessed our sins in total. Not because we have repented. Not because we are withered from fasting and shamed in sackcloth. But because You are merciful.

While Daniel decried the evils of Israel and committed to godliness through repentance, he knew that those things had no inherent saving power. He knew that in the end, all men must declare their filthy rags to be filthy and acknowledge that their rescue and forgiveness came solely on the basis of God's mercy.