[Box/​Pictures on page 362]

Daniel’s Prayer of Repentance

The prophet Daniel lived in Babylon throughout the 70-year period of Jewish captivity. Sometime during the 68th year of the exile, Daniel discerned from Jeremiah’s prophecy that Israel’s sojourn was nearing its end. (Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10; Daniel 9:1, 2) Daniel turned to Jehovah in prayer​—a prayer of repentance on behalf of the entire Jewish nation. Daniel relates: “I proceeded to set my face to Jehovah the true God, in order to seek him with prayer and with entreaties, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I began to pray to Jehovah my God and to make confession.”​—Daniel 9:3, 4.

Daniel uttered his prayer some two hundred years after Isaiah penned the prophetic prayer found in chapters 63 and 64 of his book. Undoubtedly, many sincere Jews prayed to Jehovah during the difficult years of exile. The Bible, however, highlights Daniel’s prayer, which evidently represented the feelings of many faithful Jews. Thus, his prayer shows that the sentiments of Isaiah’s prophetic prayer were indeed the sentiments of faithful Jews in Babylon.

Note some similarities between Daniel’s prayer and Isaiah’s.

Isaiah 63:16 Daniel 9:15

Isaiah 63:18 Daniel 9:17

Isaiah 64:1-3 Daniel 9:15

Isaiah 64:4-7 Daniel 9:4-7

Isaiah 64:6 Daniel 9:9, 10

Isaiah 64:10, 11 Daniel 9:16-18

Now captive in Babylon, the Jews cry out in their hopelessness: “O if only you had ripped the heavens apart, that you had come down, that on account of you the very mountains had quaked, as when a fire ignites the brushwood, and the fire makes the very water boil up, in order to make your name known to your adversaries, that on account of you the nations might be agitated!” (Isaiah 64:1, 2) Jehovah does indeed have the power to save. He certainly could have come down and fought for his people, ripping apart heavenlike governmental systems and breaking up mountainlike empires. Jehovah could have made his name known by showing his fiery zeal in behalf of his people.

⁷ Jehovah had done such things in the past. Isaiah recounts: “When you did fear-inspiring things for which we could not hope, you came down. On account of you the mountains themselves quaked.” (Isaiah 64:3) Such great acts demonstrated Jehovah’s power and Godship. However, the unfaithful Jews of Isaiah’s time have no right to expect Jehovah to act in such a way for their benefit.

Only Jehovah Can Save

8. (a) What is one way that Jehovah is different from the false gods of the nations? (b) Why does Jehovah not act to save his people despite being able to do so? (c) How does Paul quote and apply Isaiah 64:4? (See box on page 366.)

⁸ False gods perform no powerful acts of salvation for their worshipers. Isaiah writes: “From time long ago none have heard, nor have any given ear, nor has an eye itself seen a God, except you, that acts for the one that keeps in expectation of him. You have met up with the one exulting and doing righteousness, those who keep remembering you in your own ways.” (Isaiah 64:4, 5a) Jehovah alone is “the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” (Hebrews 11:6) He acts to protect those doing righteousness and those remembering him. (Isaiah 30:18) Have the Jews acted in this way? No. Isaiah says to Jehovah: “Look! You yourself became indignant, while we kept sinning​—in them a long time, and should we be saved?” (Isaiah 64:5b) Because God’s people have a long record of persistent sinfulness, there is no basis for Jehovah to hold back his indignation and act for their salvation.

9. What can repentant Jews hope for, and what can we learn from this?

⁹ The Jews cannot undo the past, but if they repent and return to pure worship, they can hope for forgiveness and future blessings. Jehovah will reward repentant ones in his due time by releasing them from Babylonian captivity. Still, they need to be patient. Despite their repentance, Jehovah will not change his timetable. If they keep alert and are responsive to Jehovah’s will, however, they are assured of eventual liberation. Similarly, Christians today patiently keep in expectation of Jehovah. (2 Peter 3:11, 12) We take to heart the words of the apostle Paul, who said: “Let us not give up in doing what is fine, for in due season we shall reap if we do not tire out.”​—Galatians 6:9.

10. What inability is frankly confessed in Isaiah’s prayer?

¹⁰ Isaiah’s prophetic prayer is more than a formal confession of sin. It expresses sincere recognition of the nation’s inability to save itself. The prophet says: “We become like someone unclean, all of us, and all our acts of righteousness are like a garment for periods of menstruation; and we shall fade away like leafage, all of us, and our errors themselves will carry us away just like a wind.” (Isaiah 64:6) By the end of the exile, repentant Jews may have ceased practicing apostasy. They may have turned to Jehovah with acts of righteousness. But they are still imperfect. Their good deeds, while praiseworthy, are no better than soiled garments when it comes to atonement for sins. Jehovah’s forgiveness is an undeserved gift motivated by his mercy. It is not something that can be earned.​—Romans 3:23, 24.

11. (a) What unhealthy spiritual condition exists among most of the Jews in exile, and why may this be? (b) Who were excellent examples of faith during the exile?

¹¹ As Isaiah looks ahead, what does he see? The prophet prays: “There is no one calling upon your name, no one rousing himself to lay hold on you; for you have concealed your face from us, and you cause us to melt by the power of our error.” (Isaiah 64:7) The spiritual condition of the nation is abysmal. The people have not been calling upon God’s name in prayer. While no longer guilty of the gross sin of idolatry, they are evidently negligent in their worship, and there is “no one rousing himself to lay hold” on Jehovah. They clearly do not enjoy a healthy relationship with the Creator. Perhaps some feel unworthy to address Jehovah in prayer. Others may go about their daily routine without taking him into account. Of course, there are such individuals as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Ezekiel among the exiles, and these are fine examples of faith. (Hebrews 11:33, 34) As the 70-year period of captivity draws to a close, such men as Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, and High Priest Joshua stand ready to take an excellent lead in calling upon the name of Jehovah. Still, Isaiah’s prophetic prayer seems to describe the condition of the majority of the exiles.

“To Obey Is Better Than a Sacrifice”

12. How does Isaiah express the willingness of repentant Jews to change their conduct?

¹² Repentant Jews are willing to change. Representing them, Isaiah prays to Jehovah: “Now, O Jehovah, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our Potter; and all of us are the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) These words once again acknowledge Jehovah’s authority as Father, or Life-Giver. (Job 10:9) Jews who repent are compared to malleable clay. Those who respond to Jehovah’s discipline can in a figurative way be shaped, or formed, in harmony with God’s standards. But this can be accomplished only if Jehovah, the Potter, extends forgiveness. Hence, Isaiah twice appeals to him to remember that the Jews are his people: “Do not be indignant, O Jehovah, to the extreme, and do not forever remember our error. Look, now, please: we are all your people.”​—Isaiah 64:9.

13. What is the condition of the land of Israel while God’s people are in exile?

¹³ During the exile, the Jews endure much more than mere captivity in a pagan land. The desolate condition of Jerusalem and her temple brings reproach upon them and their God. Isaiah’s prayer of repentance recounts some of the things that cause this reproach: “Your own holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion itself has become a sheer wilderness, Jerusalem a desolate waste. Our house of holiness and beauty, in which our forefathers praised you, has itself become something for burning in the fire; and every one of our desirable things has become a devastation.”​—Isaiah 64:10, 11.

14. (a) How did Jehovah warn of the situation that now exists? (b) While Jehovah found delight in his temple and the sacrifices made there, what is more important?

¹⁴ Of course, Jehovah is well aware of the state of affairs in the ancestral land of the Jews. About 420 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, he warned his people that if they turned away from his commandments and served other gods, he would “cut [them] off from upon the surface of the ground,” and the beautiful temple would “become heaps of ruins.” (1 Kings 9:6-9) True, Jehovah found delight in the land he had given to his people, the magnificent temple built in his honor, and the sacrifices made to him. But loyalty and obedience are more important than material things, even sacrifices. The prophet Samuel aptly said to King Saul: “Does Jehovah have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Look! To obey is better than a sacrifice, to pay attention than the fat of rams.”​—1 Samuel 15:22.

15. (a) What plea does Isaiah prophetically make to Jehovah, and how is it answered? (b) What events led up to Jehovah’s final rejection of Israel as a nation?

¹⁵ Nevertheless, can the God of Israel look upon the calamity of his repentant people and fail to be moved to pity? Such is the question with which Isaiah ends his prophetic prayer. On behalf of the exiled Jews, he pleads: “In the face of these things will you continue keeping yourself in check, O Jehovah? Will you stay still and let us be afflicted to the extreme?” (Isaiah 64:12) As the situation turns out, Jehovah does indeed forgive his people, and in 537 B.C.E., he brings them back to their land so that they can resume pure worship there. (Joel 2:13) Centuries later, however, Jerusalem and her temple were once again destroyed, and God’s covenant nation was finally rejected by him. Why? Because Jehovah’s people had drifted away from his commandments and had rejected the Messiah. (John 1:11; 3:19, 20) When that happened, Jehovah replaced Israel with a new nation, a spiritual nation, namely, “the Israel of God.”​—Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9.

Jehovah, the “Hearer of Prayer”

16. What does the Bible teach regarding Jehovah’s forgiveness?

¹⁶ Important lessons can be learned from what happened to Israel. We see that Jehovah is “good and ready to forgive.” (Psalm 86:5) As imperfect creatures, we depend on his mercy and forgiveness to receive salvation. No works of ours can help us to earn these blessings. However, Jehovah does not extend forgiveness indiscriminately. Only those who repent of their sins and turn around are in line for divine pardon.​—Acts 3:19.

17, 18. (a) How do we know that Jehovah is genuinely interested in our thoughts and feelings? (b) Why does Jehovah exercise patience toward sinful humans?

¹⁷ We also learn that Jehovah is keenly interested in our thoughts and feelings when we express them in prayer to him. He is the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2, 3) The apostle Peter assures us: “The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their supplication.” (1 Peter 3:12) Further, we learn that a prayer of repentance must include a humble confession of sins. (Proverbs 28:13) This does not mean, though, that we can presume on God’s mercy. The Bible warns Christians “not to accept the undeserved kindness of God and miss its purpose.”​—2 Corinthians 6:1.

¹⁸ Finally, we learn the purpose of God’s patience toward his sinful people. The apostle Peter explained that Jehovah is patient “because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Nevertheless, those who persistently abuse God’s patience will eventually be punished. Concerning this we read: “[Jehovah] will render to each one according to his works: everlasting life to those who are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibleness by endurance in work that is good; however, for those who are contentious and who disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness there will be wrath and anger.”​—Romans 2:6-8.

19. What unchangeable qualities will Jehovah always display?

¹⁹ This is the way God dealt with ancient Israel. Our relationship with Jehovah today is governed by the same principles because he does not change. While not holding back deserved punishment, he will always be “Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin.”​—Exodus 34:6, 7.