Daniel speaks highly of the Lord’s work in delivering the people from Egypt. He sees how the Lord showed his greatness in what he did at that time. The Canaanites trembled when the people of God came their way. The Egyptians trembled when the Lord showed his greatness in the plagues and at the Red Sea.
Daniel confesses the guilt of God’s covenant people to the Lord who, as the deliverer of his people, saved them from Egypt. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He includes himself. He uses the inclusive plural pronouns: we and us. How is that possible? Daniel himself lives so intimately with the Lord! Daniel sees matters in the right perspective. He knows himself to be part of the people of Israel. He sees how his ancestors have deviated. He knows from himself that he is no better than they were. It is not as if he says, What foolish and wicked people my ancestors were. If I would have lived at that time, I would have done much better.
Those who truly live close to the Lord know their own hearts. Then you also see the depth of your own sins and know how you are inclined to sin. Daniel sees that it is a great miracle that he has learned to love the Lord and his law. He regards it as a miracle of God’s grace that he will not follow sin in his life. As a person you then learn to speak in such a way that you are talking about our sins when you look at the sins of Christ’s church in the past. Then we learn to say that we are ashamed and then it is about our guilt. Apostasy in the past therefore has everything to do with us today.
Daniel even confesses guilt along with the ten tribes who introduced false religion hundreds of years ago. In this way we learn to pray for churches in which apostasy has broken through for a long time already. We have no reason to exalt ourselves. We do not say, Look at how good we are!
It is therefore not strange for us to talk about our sins in the worship services. In ourselves we are not better than others.
Daniel intercedes on behalf of the people of the covenant. But he does not exalt himself above the people. He is the humble intercessor who knows his own heart quite well. He cannot do what the Lord Jesus has done later. The Lord Jesus is praying for God’s people as the sinless one. He is the Intercessor as well as the Saviour and the Redeemer because he himself is without sin. He prays in such a way that his sinlessness covers the believers. His work, his life, his prayer have caused the burden of the believers’ guilt to be taken away from them forever. This is true for all who go to Christ and who recognize and follow him as the Intercessor and Saviour. For those who listen to the Word of the Father and who want to live from it, Christ has taken away the guilt forever. He is the Intercessor for those who are always heard by the Father. The believer’s supplication reaches the Father through the prayer of our Intercessor, Jesus Christ.
15 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.