“We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.” Daniel 9:10-14
Daniel itemized the evil which God had brought upon the people of Israel as a result of their sin. By this judgment God had “confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity.” The climax of God’s judgment was the destruction He brought “against Jerusalem,” which was the final blow to Israel’s pride and security. Adding to all their earlier sins, Israel did not turn to the Lord in prayer. Even in the midst of the terrible manifestation of God’s righteous judgment, there was no revival; no turning to Him; rulers and people alike persisted in their evil ways. Daniel was saying that God had no alternative but to judge. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (Galatians 3:10) Cursings are set forth before Israel in detail. “Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy. For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!” (Deuteronomy 28:63-64) To Israel it was made clear what would happen if they were disobedient. Just like it is made clear to us today, if we don’t follow God, there will be judgment.