Tonight we are going backwards in time again in our study. After Daniel was given the visions from God, he was filled with great hope for his people and nation. This hope involved one of the most phenomenal experiences of Daniel's life, and it took place during the reign of Darius, the new Persian ruler of Babylon. So, this prayer goes back to the time when Medo-Persia conquers Babylon.
Daniel 9:1-3. Daniel was studying the scriptures in the first year of Darius's reign and he was actually reading Jeremiah 25:1 - 14, which explains why the Jews had been exiled to Babylon. Suddenly, Daniel's attention focused upon Jeremiah 25:11 -13, which says the following:
Jeremiah 25:11-13 – “This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12 “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever. 13 I will bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book—all the penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations.”
These verses are very specific in their prediction: the Jews were to be held in captivity by Babylon for 70 years. After the 70 years, Babylon was to fall as a nation. But the question was, when did the 70-year exile begin?
There are three facts in Scripture that point strongly to the year 605 BC as the beginning of the exile.
-first, Jeremiah gave his prediction of the 70 year captivity in 605 BC.
-second, the first Babylonian invasion of Judah and the first exile of the Jews took place in 605 BC.
-third, Daniel himself, as a young boy of 15-16 years old, was included in this first exile by Babylon.
In God's sovereign power to work all things out for good, he arranged these events so Daniel would understand Jeremiah's prophecy and know that the Jews were soon to be set free from their captivity. The Lord would use Daniel's understanding of the scripture to encourage His people who had been held captive for so long. Their day of liberation was right over the horizon.
Daniel was stirred to seek the face of the Lord. God had promised mercy, forgiveness, and restoration of the nation of Israel. So, Daniel goes to the Lord in prayer.
Daniel 9:4. Daniel begins seeking God for mercy and forgiveness. He expressed adoration for the Lord, that He is great and awesome and that He keeps His covenant of love and mercy.
Daniel 9:5-6. Then Daniel confessed his sins and the sins of his people. He confessed their wickedness and rebellion, their rejection of God's word, and their failure to listen to the prophets: those who faithfully proclaimed God's message.
Daniel 9:7-8. Daniel expresses their unfaithfulness. He confesses their terrible shame and evil when contrasted with God's righteousness, a terrible evil that covered them with shame and led to their exile. Their sin – of being stubborn, obstinate, hard-hearted - that stood against God and brought shame upon them was also confessed by Daniel.
Daniel 9:9-10. Daniel then acknowledges Israel's ingratitude, the fact that they had rejected God's mercy, rebelled against God, disobeyed God, and broken God's laws and commandments. Daniel further acknowledged that, despite his peoples ingratitude, the Lord was merciful and forgiving. He would have mercy and forgive their sins if the people would turn to Him and repent of their sins.
Daniel 9:11-14. Daniel continues his confession for the people of Israel. He acknowledged and honored God's justice. God's holy word had forewarned them of His coming judgment. So, the people were now suffering the curses of judgment because of their sins against the Lord. The sufferings of the nation in captivity were due to their sins. When they rejected God's mercy and continued to sin, God fulfilled His word by bringing disaster on them. His hand of judgment fell upon them because they had not repented by turning from their sins and obeying the truth, and the fact that the Lord is righteous and must execute judgment upon all who disobey him. The penalty for violating God's commandments must be paid. Daniel acknowledged that fact by honoring God's judgment and the execution of His judgment upon the nation of Israel.
Daniel 9:15. Daniel asked the Lord for mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. God had poured out these three wonderful promises on the Jews previously when they were held captive by Egypt. He delivered them out of their bondage. Now Daniel pleads for the Lord to once again free his people, liberating them from their bondage in Babylon. So, Daniel makes five strong requests, and these pleas are the major thrust of his prayer.
Daniel 9:16. Daniel pleaded with God to turn His anger and wrath away from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the Lord's city, His holy mountain, the very City and mountain He had chosen to bear His name. Note that Daniel gave two reasons why God should consider turning His anger and wrath away. First, because showing mercy was the very nature of God's righteousness and His justice. Second, because justice had now been served, the people had already suffered for their sins. Their homeland had been destroyed and they had lost everything. Plus, they were exiles in a foreign nation, which meant they were objects of scorn among other nationalities.
Daniel 9:17. Daniel pleaded with God to hear his prayer and to look with favor on the destroyed sanctuary. He begged God to restore His people to the promised land and to help them rebuild the temple. Note that he was not making this request for the sake of the people, but for the sake of the Lord Himself.
Daniel 9:18a. Daniel pleaded with God to open His eyes and to look upon the desolation of the city that bore His name. Ever since the days of the great king David, the Lord had chosen Jerusalem to be His holy city, the city where His holy presence would be symbolized. So, the prophet was asking God not to forget Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:18b. Daniel pleaded with God to know that his requests were not based on the people's righteousness but on God's mercy. Daniel knew the people were not righteous. But God was merciful. So, the prophet begged God to answer his prayer because He was merciful.
Daniel 9:19. Daniel pleaded with God to forgive him and the people, and to act immediately. Do you feel the passion pouring out of Daniel's heart? “Oh Lord, hear! Oh Lord, forgive! Oh Lord, listen and act!” It was as though his heart was about to burst. He was asking, seeking, knocking, begging, pleading, crying for God to hear and answer his request. Again, he wanted the Lord to answer and to answer quickly.
The Lord's own honor and reputation were at stake. Every day that the holy city lay in ruins and the true believers among the Jews were held in bondage was another day that brought more shame to the name of God. The holy city and true believers bore His name, bearing strong testimony that He is the only living and true God, the only Savior of the world. So, for the sake of God's own reputation, Daniel pleaded for the Lord to hear his prayer.
We will stop here for tonight but what can we learn from Daniel's prayer? First, we should be just as steadfast in prayer as we are in Bible study. We should seek God's face through praise and thanksgiving. When we pray, we should plead with God for the desperate needs of our families, our nation, and the world.
Another thing that we can learn from this prayer is that God will have mercy upon us and forgive our sins. But there is one condition. Like Daniel, our hearts need to be genuine, genuine enough to truly repent of our sins. If a person truly repents and trusts the Lord to forgive his sins God will have mercy and forgive.
