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.
Daniel was afraid that when the decree by Cyrus was given to return that few, if any, Jews would respond – Prayer was the answer
b. The Supplication (9:3-19)
I want you to see that the Word of God and prayer go together Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Daniel went to his knees in prayer, this is the true attitude of the humble Bible student.
If Daniel’s people had learned nothing from their exile, the Daniel would pray for them. He would fast, as rich and powerful as he was, he would nonetheless don the sackcloth and ashes; he would show God how deeply he felt about the sins of his people.
You don’t have to read very far in the book of Daniel before you discover that he was aman of prayer. Daniel and his three friends sought the face of God when Nebuchadnezzar threatened to slay all the magicians and counsellors (Dan 2:16-23)
It was Daniel’s habit to pray to the Lord three times a day (Dan 6:10-11) a practice he continued even when it was illegal to pray to anyone except the king.
When God showed Daniel visions of future events, the prophet sought the Lord for an explanation (Dan 7:15 & 8:15) Prayer was a vital part of this prophet’s life.
Here in Chapter 9 Daniel’s prayer is one of the greatest examples of intersession in the Bible. He confesses his own sins and the sins of his people. He reviews Bible history and confesses that the nation has been wicked and God has been righteous to judge them.
According to John Philips, Daniel approached God along four lines. He talked about His character, commandments, covenant and compassion.
1. God’s Character (9:4-9)
Verse 4
Daniel called Him “Jehovah, my Elohim.” The God of covenant was the God of creation, and the God of creation and covenant was his God. Daniel took comfort in that fact. He had lived all of his adult life in Babylon, the capital city of idolatry.
The false gods of Babylon were Bel. Merodach, Nebo and a host of others. When he arrived in Babylon as a young man his own name had been changed to Belteshazzar in the hope that he would convert to pagan idolatry.
Daniel knew better than that, His God was the creator of the universe who, as big as He was, still entered into a covenant relationship with His chosen people.
He was the great and dreadful God. This time Daniel uses the word “El” which describes God as the Almighty. God in all of His strength and power. El is the God, the omnipotent One, the one in whom all of the divine attributes are concentrated. God in this character, was awesome and terrible.
Keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. He was a God who showed mercy to His people, those who sought to obey Him could be assured of His mercy. Daniel’s long life was certainly a testimony to that fact.
Verses 5-6
Daniel searched the Hebrew language for words to describe how wickedly the Jews had behaved.
We have sinned. The word sin means “to miss the mark, to stumble and fall, to come short, to be blameworthy.” The word has to do with what we think, say and do rather than with what we are.
We have committed iniquity The word iniquity means perversity and comes from a root word meaning “to be bent or crooked.” Basicaly it means to be wrong.
We have done wickedly The word wicked in Scripture describes the restless activity of fallen human nature. It is used to describe the lawless behaviour of the impious and the ungodly.
We have rebelled The word “rebel” is usually used for revolt against God or royalty. This revolt had expressed itself among the Jews in the departure from God’s precepts and judgements and in their persistent refusal to listen to the long line of prophets that God had sent to warn them.
Verse 6b
Daniel confessed that the kings, the princes, the fathers, and all the people of the land were guilty. Yet God was patient, He kept sending His people prophet after prophet, messenger after messenger.
Verses 7-8
How long could the patience of God continue postponing the inevitable consequences of Israel’s wickedness and defiance? Daniel acknowledged God’s righteousness.
Daniel’s thoughts turn to the confusion that had come upon the Jewish people. The Assyrians had taken the ten tribes captive and yet Judah had learned nothing from this experience.
Daniel thought of all the countries that the Hebrews had gone into because of their trespass. Here another word for sin is used that is associated with treachery, unfaithfulness and breach of trust. It is the word used for the sins of Achan in Joshua 7:1
Verse 9
The exiled nation was indeed reaping what it had sown. It was guilty as charged, therefore all they could do was plead for mercy and forgiveness. Daniel thanked God that those qualities of character were His.
The God to whom he was praying was not some pagan thunderer or cruel deity that took pleasure in pain and insisted on his pound of flesh. God was not like that at all. To the Lord our God belong mercies He is a God of all grace and of infinite mercy. He is the God of whom Jonah wrote I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness (Jonah 4:2)
