An Appeal for God’s Faithful Mercy
I enjoyed exploring the wooded area behind our neighborhood as a young boy. I would often take my BMX bike on well-worn footpaths and imagine camping in some remote section of the woods near the river. The winter was especially intriguing as an isolated pond would freeze over on the coldest days. I would revel in the fun of watching stones and pebbles effortlessly glide across the ice as I skipped them on the surface. My mother had warned me of the dangers of walking on thin ice, but a friend then urged me to walk across the frozen pond for the thrill of making it across unscathed. I took up the challenge and, thankfully, was able to scurry across as I heard the ice beneath me begin to crack. As a reward for my successful efforts, I picked some cat tail plants nearby and brought them home.
My reception at home was not so pleasant. My mother understood the cat tails were picked from the pond area and questioned my activities, and sheepishly I confessed to taking up a dare from my friend to walk across the pond. My joy quickly turned to dread as I faced grounding and a the belt. However, it wasn’t the spanking that drove my dread, but the realization that I had hurt the one person that loved me and I loved most dearly - my mother. My mother had been my rock during my early years as my father would often come home late from work in a drunken rage. I wanted to be the obedient son so my mother would not experience any more trauma than she had. When I realized I had hurt my mother, the dread was compounded.
My relationship with my mother was built on her protective and nurturing love for me, grounded in a deep faith in Christ. Daniel realized that Jerusalem was doomed to destruction. He immediately turned to the Lord and confessed the sins of the nation. Remarkably, he included himself in the indictment as he collectively identified with God’s people. Daniel could merely say, “we’ve done wrong. Please forgive us,” and move on. However, we see Daniel appealing to God’s goodness, reminding Him of his steadfast love. This word in Daniel 9:4, often translated steadfast in our English bibles, is the Hebrew word hesed and carries with it the idea of covenant fidelity as this word can be also translated as loyalty or faithfulness. Daniel no doubt had Exodus 15 in mind. In this passage, Moses recalls God’s steadfast love in redeeming Israel from the Egyptians by bringing them through the Red Sea.
Israel was God’s firstborn, and that relationship was not unlike a parent to a child. God, in his protective love, set boundaries for his people so that they would not become entrenched in the idolatry of the pagan world around them and destroy themselves. Nevertheless, God was loyal and faithful to Israel when they were not, yet Israel had forgotten the consequences of their sinful behavior through the law. Israel was to be God’s people, and God was to be their God to display His good character to the world and extend His reign so that the world may know the Lord.
Daniel appeals to the mercy of God to turn away judgment as a cry of desperation for his people. His confession is not merely manipulation to relieve the people’s suffering but rather an appeal to God’s merciful character to keep his promises to covenant loyalty. God’s love for His people drives Him to enact justice to bring them back into a relationship giving the opportunity to repent. This repentance requires humility and willingness to face the music, but also to turn from their sin and, most importantly, restore a broken relationship.
My mother’s care and provision for me as a child required boundaries but also carried with it a promise to never abandon me in my time of need. I couldn’t survive without my mother’s care, and Israel could not survive without God’s hesed love and mercy. Hundreds of years later, in the form of Jesus, God would take all of our sins on the cross upon himself, taking judgment on himself so that his steadfast love would remain faithful to restore our relationship with our heavenly Father.
~ Shan Norwood and his wife Rina have been members at LIFE Fellowship for seven years. Shan is a graduate of Gordon Conwell Seminary and holds degrees in Biblical Studies and Christian Thought. He serves as a LIFE University instructor and as a stepdad to Micah and Caleb Godsey.