The End to Shame
The End to Shame
Daniel 9
“Pastor, can we meet?” This is one of the most important questions a pastor can ever be asked. In my experience, it usually means one of three things: I am unhappy with something happening in the church; I want to grow in my faith or an area of theology; or I want to confess sin. In my early years of ministry, most of my meetings were focused on the first one. I was a young pastor learning the church and had not yet earned any real pastoral equity with the congregation, so I often had fear and anxiety about the “Pastor, can we meet?” question. But my fear and anxiety was rooted in myself. In those early years, I was concerned with what people thought of me and how I was doing as a pastor. I did not want to let anyone down, and that question often exposed my insecurities and my fear of man.
Have you ever been there? When your boss asks to meet with you, is the first question you ask, “Did I do something wrong? Am I going to lose my job? Am I in trouble?” The worst is when it’s Friday afternoon, and your boss asks to meet on Monday. Then you have to stew all weekend about what the meeting might entail. I wish I could say I am over all my insecurities, but at times when I get the “Pastor, can we meet?” question, I still struggle with my internal fears. But, I can honestly say that by God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, I now long for that question, “Pastor, can we meet?”. I long for it because of the fruit I have seen when God’s people hunger for growth in God’s Word and long for a pure conscience before Him.
“Pastor, can we meet?”-so many stories and so much shame, yet so much freedom. I know shame–that painful feeling of humiliation or anguish that results from your own foolish behavior or someone else’s sinful behavior toward you. Shame grows in the darkness and affects every moment of every day. Shame is real. It causes you to feel worthless, rejected, unclean, or depressed. Shame is not only individual; it can be communal. Communities or families can feel shame because of what one or all in the group have done or experienced. Shame grows in the darkness and shrinks in the light. But when we confess our sin and our shame, we can experience true freedom. My prayer is that you, just like Daniel, would find freedom from your shame in the faithfulness of God’s steadfast love for you.
The End of Shame Begins with God’s Word
The exile of God’s people in Babylon was a season of shame. In fact, the entire Bible was written in an honor/shame culture. In that culture, presence was a sign of honor, while being cast from one’s presence was a sign of shame. Israel was cast from God’s presence in the Promised Land and experienced the shame of the exile. As they lived open shame during the exile, they needed to be reminded of God’s love.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Daniel 9:1–2
As Daniel meditated on Jeremiah 29, he was reminded that the exile would not last forever. In fact, Jeremiah had written that the exile would last only 70 years.
“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Jeremiah 29:10-14
Daniel needed to be reminded of God’s covenant faithfulness. Jeremiah 29:1 says the prophet sent these words to the surviving elders of the exiles, the priests, the prophets, and all the people. Daniel would have been very familiar with this prophecy. Daniel knew that the 70 years of exile were nearly over, and he turned to the Lord in prayer.
Friend, if you are experiencing shame, please know that the starting place for freedom is God’s revealed Word. We will not overcome our shame unless we go to God and see ourselves for who we are in light of God’s Word. Daniel, as a representative of Israel, read God’s Word, and it caused him to turn to the Lord and seek His face. Friend, the Word was given so we would know the Lord and come to Him in faith.
The End of Shame Begins with God’s Character and Our Confession
Daniel is an example of how to respond to shame; Daniel turned his face to the Lord and sought Him. The end of shame comes when we turn to the Lord. Typically, when we are ashamed, we hide our faces. But listen to the preamble of Daniel’s prayer.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:3
Daniel turned his face to the Lord God. Beloved, God delights when we turn to Him for forgiveness and mercy. He delights when we do not hide our shame but confess it. The reason we can confess our sin is because of God’s covenant and steadfast love. We approach Him on the basis of His character.
I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, Daniel 9:4
The reality of God’s covenant and steadfast love was rooted in His Word, and this truth was foundational in the life of Israel. In Deuteronomy 7, Israel was chosen by God because of His love. They were not chosen because they were lovable, but simply because God set His love on them. Israel’s relationship with God was rooted in His character,
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, Deuteronomy 7:9
Solomon drew on the same theme during the dedication of the Temple.
“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 1 Kings 8:23
Daniel begins his prayer for mercy and forgiveness by proclaiming the character of God. In the same way, we can approach God because of His covenant- keeping steadfast love for His people. God will not cast us from His presence forever. He will not leave us in open shame. He will bring us back to Him.
The world’s problem is that we have been separated from God. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were cast from God’s presence and put out of the Garden. Just as their sin separated them from God, our sin has separated us from God. The world’s problem is, “How can we get back into the presence of God?” If you are not a Christian, do you see this as a problem? Do you ever wonder why we experience shame when we feel others do not value us? We experience shame because our relationship with God has been affected. Whether we want to admit it or not, our standing with God and with our community
brings us shame. Friend, I appeal to you to take an honest look at your sin and shame. I want you to know that you can come to God, and He will forgive you of your sins and welcome you into His presence, if you come to Him through faith in His promise.
In Daniel 9, Daniel turns his face to the Lord and remembers God’s covenant faithfulness and steadfast love. Then he confesses his sin and the sin of the people.
I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
Daniel 9:4–15
Daniel rightly admits that they are in their situation because of their sin. God was perfectly right and just to cast Israel from the Promised Land into captivity. God’s justice is always perfect. It is worthy to note that Daniel prayed the same prayer that Solomon prayed when he dedicated the Temple in 1 Kings 8:47, “We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly.”
Daniel does not hide his sin or the sin of the people. He does not justify it. He does not qualify his sin. He makes no excuses. He confesses it clearly and comprehensively. He knows that Israel deserves to be in exile. Likewise, beloved, we know that we deserve to be exiled from God’s presence. Because of our sin, we know that on judgment day, we deserve to hear, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.” We do not deserve God’s presence because of our sin. Paul describes hell this way, saying the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9
We deserve to be cast away from the presence of the Lord or endure open shame because of our sin.
And yet, Daniel does not merely confess sin; he pleads for mercy. He is pleading for a new exodus as he references the first exodus in verse 15, “O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand.” Daniel knows he deserves captivity, but hear his pleas for mercy,
“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” Daniel 9:16–19
Daniel wants God to turn His wrath away from the people and turn His face toward them. He wants the glory of His presence to return to the people. He wants the end of shame. He no longer wants to be cast aside but wants to return to the presence of the Lord.
If you want to end your shame, you need to trust God’s character and confess your sin. God has not changed. He is full of steadfast love and faithfulness, and He delights to forgive the sins of His people who are called by His name.
The End of Shame Begins and Ends with Jesus Christ
God did not make Daniel wait long before giving him an answer. He closes his prayer, “Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” And God did not delay to extend His forgiveness.
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. Daniel 9:20–23
Don’t get lost in the details of the prophecy. Don’t miss that Daniel confesses his sin and is reminded by God that he is greatly loved. God loves you as well. This hopeful prophecy explains how God can forgive the wickedness and perversity of His people. Because of His love, He will end the shame of His people and will fully and finally end sin.
Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Daniel 9:24
We will focus on the when and the how in a moment, but listen to what God is going to do. He is going to finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for iniquity, bring everlasting righteousness, seal both the vision and the prophet, and anoint a most holy place. This is an incredible sentence. God will not leave His people in open shame; He will put an end to their sin by atoning for their iniquity. It is a glorious promise!
Now let’s read the prophecy from Gabriel and try to make some sense of what he says will happen. I won’t be able to give as much detail as some may hope, but I hope I can provide enough detail to convince you that God will end your shame on the basis of His covenant-keeping steadfast love.
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:24–27
I believe this vision is an overlapping vision of what we have already seen throughout the book. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2 and the visions in Daniel 7 and 8 are speaking about the same events. Daniel gives us a clue that he is speaking about the same events by connecting the words “understanding” and “vision” throughout this section.
We always want to interpret Scripture with Scripture, so it is best to interpret Daniel 9 and the seventy weeks in light of the rest of the book of Daniel. The 70 weeks should actually be read as 7 years of 70 weeks each, meaning 490 years (70 x 7). Gabriel breaks the 70 weeks into 1 week and then 62 weeks before the final week. One of the reasons Israel was held in captivity for 70 years was because they had missed these sabbath years. God had told them to work six years and then observe the seventh year as a sabbath year to the Lord. Then, at the end of seven cycles of seven years, there should be a jubilee year.
“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. Leviticus 25:8–10
Because Israel had never practiced the sabbath or observed the Year of Jubilee, they were carried into slavery.
The Year of Jubilee looks back to the exodus from Egypt and looks forward to the new exodus. How does this happen? How does the Year of Jubilee come? In Daniel 9:25, we see that Jerusalem is rebuilt, but it is a troubled time (most likely the occupation of the Romans). Then, after the first week and then the 62 weeks, “an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.” The anointed one who was cut off was the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people? Isaiah 53:8
Just as Jesus was cut off from God’s presence, He made an end of transgression by taking up the sins of the people. He atoned for our iniquity through the cross. This is why Jesus defined His ministry from Isaiah 61.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor…
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; Isaiah 61:1;7
Jesus Christ came to deliver His people from captivity and to free them from sin and death. Then God, with a mighty hand, raised Jesus Christ from the dead, freeing Him and all who come to Him, from the grip of Satan.
Just as in Daniel 7, one will rise up in the last days to make war against the saints and to deceive many and make the worship of God desolate. But just as in Daniel 7 and 8, the Lord will cut short this reign of evil. It will last for only half a week (Daniel 9:27). God will bring an end to evil on the last day when He returns to judge the world.
Daniel prayed for God to act and not delay. He prayed for forgiveness. He asked for God to hear his prayer. And God most certainly did. He knew of their open shame and sent Jesus Christ to deal with it decisively through His death, burial, and resurrection.
Beloved, God is faithful. God is a covenant-keeping God. He will not treat you as your sins deserve, but according to His mercy. This is the promise made to Daniel, and this is the promise made to us. In Christ, you are not called to live in shame but in forgiveness. The evil one wants to make you feel shame because of your sin, but God has promised forgiveness in Christ. If you are in Christ, you will not be put to shame. You will be forgiven.
“Pastor, can we meet?” As the old hymn says, “My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul.” How many saints throughout the years have sat in my office and courageously confessed their sin and experienced an end to their shame? They needed God’s Word. They needed to remember God’s character. They needed to confess their sin and shame. They needed to be told that Christ had finished their transgressions. He made an end of sin. He atoned for iniquity and brought everlasting righteousness to His people. Sometimes, it is hard to believe the promises of God because they are just so, so good. Beloved, put an end to your shame by trusting fully in Jesus Christ, the One who was cut off and put to shame so that we never would be.
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away:
Put end to your shame by looking to Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. If Jesus has put an end to your shame, you should as well. Our elders are ready for the question, “Pastor, can you meet?” Confess your sin and find freedom in Christ today.