Daniel Chapter 9a Series

Daniel – Chapter 9a

Chapter 9 Outline

I. Historical 70 (9:1-19)

a. The Scripture (9:1-2)

1. Time (9:1)

2. Text (9:2)

b. The Supplication (9:3-19)

1. God’s Character (9:4-9)

2. God’s Command (9:10-14)

3. God’s Covenant (9:15-17)

4. God’s Compassion (9:18-19)

II. Prophetical 70 (9:20-27)

a. Gabriel’s Mission (9:20-23)

1. When he Came (9:20-21)

2. Why he Came (9:22-23)

b. Gabriel’s Message (9:24-27)

1. First Period (9:25)

2. Second Period (9:26)

3. Third Period (9:27)

Message

The main feature of Daniel 9 is the prophecy of the 70 weeks. This has been well termed the “backbone of prophecy.” This is a good title for this prophecy because if the 70 weeks are misunderstood then all other prophetic passages have to be bent to fit with the misinterpretation.

However, if we have a correct understanding of this chapter we can see how all prophecy falls right into place without any forcing, as it is all intimately connected with this 70 week prophecy

I. Historical 70 (9:1-19)

a. The Scripture (9:1-2)

1. Time (9:1)

It was 538-539 B.C. Daniel had been carried into captivity at the time of the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 605 B.C. He had been in Babylon as long as the empire had been in existence. Cyrus the Persian had taken Babylon just the previous year before the events recorded in this chapter. Darius the Mede, in control of the capital, was the vice-regent of this new world empire.

2. Text (9:2)

The “books” that are referred to are the Old Testament Scriptures, especially the writings of Jeremiah the prophet. Years before the Babylonian invasion, Jeremiah had warned the Jews Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

God had commanded His people to give the land a “Sabbath rest” every seven years and a “year of jubilee” every fifty years (Lev 25) Both the forty-ninth and fiftieth years would be “sabbatic years” when the people were not allowed to sow seed or cultivate their orchards. They had to trust God to make the food grow to meet their daily needs.

This law was not only good for the land, helping to restore its fertility, but it was also good for the spiritual life of the nation. However, it was not until the nation’s captivity in Babylon that the land enjoyed its Sabbath rests 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: [21] To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

Three important things to note…

i. In sending His people into captivity, the Lord was keeping His covenant promise. He had warned them in Leviticus 26 that they would be punished if the continued disobeying Him. Israel’s years in captivity certainly cured them of their idol worship.

ii. The captivity brought blessing to the land as it had been abused by farmers who would not let the land enjoy its sabbatical rests. The land belonged to the Lord Deuteronomy 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. God would not permit His people to continue defiling the land by sin and idolatry waste it by not giving it times of rest. For every sabbatical year the Jews failed to honour, they added one more year to their own bondage in Babylon.

iii. When Daniel made this discovery about the seventy years, the period of captivity was about to end.

Daniel called Jeremiah’s writings the word of the LORD. King Jehoiakim had tried to burn up the prophecies God gave to Jeremiah, but they were preserved by the Lord Himself because they were His very Words. Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Over the centuries, people have ignored, denied, attacked, and sought to destroy the Holy Scriptures, but the Word of God is still here. Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.

The Bible is the only dependable source of truth about God, man, sin, salvation, and the future events God has in His great plan. In these days of instability, rapidly changing ideas, morals, events and situations, the unchanging Word of God is our dependable light and unshakeable foundation.

As Daniel sat and pondered Jeremiah prophesies he knew that the seventy years was almost up. He had been in captivity for 67 years but he was concerned about his people Israel. The Jews had not only settled down in Babylon but they had prospered, for the Jews who were born there Babylon was the only home they knew.