Happy Mother’s Day to you. We are grateful you are worshipping with our church family today.
Being a mother means being patient. Your work is measured in years, not in minutes. Surely a mother’s minutes can delight and can scare her at times. But a mother’s job is to build godly children and this takes years.
A little more than three years ago today, a devastating fire ripped through the Notre Dame Cathedral. Approximately twelve million people visit Notre Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. The original structure took 100 years to complete and it’s seen numerous modifications through the years. The cathedral suffered major damage on April 15, 2019, as much of the world watched in horror as a blaze engulfed the Gothic landmark in Paris, France. The fire caused the church’s central frame to collapse, destroying its famous clock and sending its spire crashing down. France’s President confirmed on April 15 that the government of France would have the cathedral restored by April 2023 in time for the Summer Olympics in France.
Parenting children is like building a cathedral. It takes a generation or more to see the work completed. Often there are setbacks, even tremendous setbacks. Just as with Notre Dame’s cathedral, a mother witnesses a tremendous amount of destruction in the life of her children. I want to remind all you mothers of Paul’s encouraging words: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
Find Daniel 9 with me if you will. Daniel prays this magnificent prayer in Daniel 9:3-19, which is really a model prayer when God’s people sin. Daniel is reading the Bible and sees a prediction that God will begin to restore His people after seventy years away. So Daniel is motivated to pray. Daniel prays that God’s people would pick up the spiritual momentum going again. He prays that God’s people would have a zeal for God, an enthusiasm for worship, and a heart for obedience. Now, Daniel has all of God’s people in mind as he prays.
Now, Daniel’s prayer is like a lot of Christian mothers’ prayers over their respective children. Many of your children are broken by this world through sinful addictions. Your child may be intoxicated by what this world offers – it’s greed and lust for things of this world. So many of your children had a spiritual interest in the early parts of their life, but that has given way to spiritual apathy and spiritual indifference.
Mothers, I want to present Daniel’s prayer as a model for your children. Fathers, I want to present Daniel’s prayer as a model for your children. All of God’s people can make Daniel’s prayer a model for our backslidden friends. What is backslidden? It’s an old term that simply means you’ve slidden backward spiritually. This is a revival prayer, an awakening prayer. Remarkably, the angel Gabriel rushes to answer Daniel’s prayer and the angel immediately responds to the prophet.
I invite you to read God’s Word with me this morning.
Today’s Scripture
“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator” (Daniel 9:20-27).
Mothers consider this…
1. God’s Picture of Things to Come
“Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing” (Daniel 9:25-26a).
1.1 Prophecy
So much of the back half of Daniel is prophecy. You can think of prophecy as history only prewritten. And only God can give true, accurate prophecies. The prophet Isaiah says God declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). The Bible tells us that God has a perfect “crystal ball.” Only God can write history before it happens.
1.2 The Anointed One
The angel sweeps in swiftly to tell Daniel that his prayer is answered. The angel, Gabriel, tells Daniel, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding” (Daniel 9:22b). Wouldn’t you love to have that experience? Wouldn’t we love to have the Lord dispatch an angel to give us insight and understanding?
The angel, Gabriel, then offers this prophecy, this prediction: “Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing” (Daniel 9:25-26a).
Several translations include the word “Messiah,” where this translation has the words “anointed one” (KJV, NASB, NKJV). Whenever someone would enter an important service for the Lord in the Old Testament, this person was anointed. The first time we see this is when Aaron is installed as the first high priest (Leviticus 8:2). The Messiah was the ultimate anointed One and every anointing pointed to His anointing. And the Messiah is spelled none other than J E S U S.
Consider the power of the One Daniel got a glimpse 450 years before His birth. There is only one human being who has ever lived that is a part of the life of every human being that will ever live. When you consider the influence of Jesus Christ upon human history, He is like the tail of a comet, which darts across the night sky. He affects our lives every single day and we don’t even realize it. His life brings inspiration to art, science, medicine, government, and education.
1.3 An Old Testament Puzzle
The Old Testament can be compared to a jigsaw puzzle. The numerous pieces remain a puzzle until they are assembled enough to fill out the intended picture. In the same way, the Messianic references in the Old Testament remain puzzling until patient study begins to reveal them as a picture of the person of Jesus Christ. And these predictions are not just here in Daniel. You’ll find them all over the Old Testament. All of these predictions begin to have a layered effect. They form this puzzle, if you will, that takes remarkable shape in Jesus Christ. The Promise made is made in the Old Testament, and the promise is kept in the New Testament.
1.4 Peter Stoner
Peter Stoner was the Chairman of the Science Division of Westmont College and held a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Cornell University. He took eight of the Old Testament’s predictions and estimated the odds they would be fulfilled in just one person.
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
A messenger will prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1).
The Messiah will enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend and suffer wounds in His hands (Zechariah 13:6).
The betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13).
The Messiah will remain silent while He is afflicted (Isaiah 53:7).
The Messiah will die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16).
He determined that the odds of just eight predictions becoming true in one person would be: 1 in 1017.
Written out this number is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
Let us try to visualize this. If you mark one of ten tickets, place all of the tickets in a hat, thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is 1 in 10. Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man.
Promise made, promise kept.
1. God’s Picture of Things to Come
2. God’s Timing for the Things We Need
“And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed” (Daniel 9:26).
Bible scholars agree that this is the most complicated set of verses in all of Daniel. This is a head-scratcher of a passage!
2.1 Daniel’s Prayer
Again, Daniel pours out his heart in prayer and the angel gives Daniel God’s timeline. Daniel is told, in effect, that even though seventy years is nearly complete where God’s people are exiled, God has a bigger agenda than Daniel can comprehend. Like building a cathedral, God’s timeline isn’t a microwave. Like raising a child, God moves with tremendous patience toward His stated objective. I love the fact that the Lord God appointed a set time for the coming of his Son into the world; nothing was left to chance. The birth of Jesus and His work are the highest point of God’s purpose. Jesus’ coming is the hinge of history, the center of God’s providence, and the crowning achievement of His grace. Therefore, the Father watched over every detail with peculiar care.
It was as if the angel Gabriel said in effect, “Daniel, You have been studying the prophet Jeremiah about the predication about seventy years where Jerusalem is restored. Well, that is not the only seventy in God’s program for Jerusalem. In seventy sevens from now, I will eradicate sin and establish righteousness.” Let’s break this down.
2.2 What’s a Week?
The word “week” appears some seven times in the midst of just three verses. The word “week” is the Hebrew word for “sevens.”
“Seventy [sevens] are decreed about your people and your holy city…” (Daniel 9:24a).
“Then for sixty-two [sevens] it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time” (Daniel 9:25b).
“And after the sixty-two [sevens], an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing” (Daniel 9:26a).
And one more: “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one [seven], and for half of the [sevens] he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering” (Daniel 9:27a).
This word could be a week of days, a week of years, or a week of hours. Instead, it simply means seven periods of time.
So this could be seven days or seven decades. Yet, many understand this reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks.
2.3 Seventy Divided into Three Groups
Notice that Daniel divides the seventy sevens into three groups, seven sevens, sixty-two sevens, and a final seven. Again, he divides the 70 into 7, 62, and 1. The first stage — the first seven sevens —would run from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the time when that rebuilding is complete. Let me show you.
2.4 Jerusalem Rebuilt
“Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. (Daniel 9:25). Now, “from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem” is seen as starting with Nehemiah’s request to the Persian king, Artaxerxes, to rebuild the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:5-8). Artaxerxes issued that command right around 444 BC. Roughly 483 years from 444 BC puts you right around the time of Jesus Christ, depending on the ancient calendaring system you used. Daniel is praying for Jerusalem to be rebuilt and God gives Him this mind-blowing answer. God says in effect, “Daniel, all you are seeing is phase one of the project. It’s going to take nearly five centuries before I bring forward my masterpiece.” Jesus Christ, the anointed one, ministers in a time when the Temple is rebuilt. But even better than that, Jesus replaced the Temple itself.
Surely, Daniel could not have anticipated this when he was seeking God in prayer.
2.6 The Anointed One is Cut Off
“And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed” (Daniel 9:26).
Jesus crucified is pictured by Gabriel as the Messiah is “cut off and shall have nothing” in verse 26. Again, when Daniel is confessing his sin and praying for a greater fervency for God’s people, the angel says here is a glimpse of Jesus.
2.7 The Man Who Won’t Go Away
Think of this with me: When a person dies their impact on the world immediately begins to fade into the background and they are pretty quickly forgotten. Names are very rarely ever mentioned or spoken of even if they leave something that we experience or enjoy every day, we don’t really think about the person who did it. For example, if you have an iPhone or a Mac or an Apple product, how often do you think about Steve Jobs? Probably not much at all. When you turn on a light in your room or a radio, you probably don’t think about Thomas Edison at all. There was one man that bucked this trend. His name is Jesus. His impact was greater a hundred years after He died than it was when He was alive. His name will be spoken by more people all over the world than every other human name of any other person alive or dead combined. From when Jesus Christ was born until now, every ruler, king, dictator and president must be dated in reference to the life of Jesus. Time is measured by two words: Anno Domini, “In the year of our Lord.” No wonder the angel spoke of Jesus! That is why it is hard to disagree with the British author H.G. Wells who once wrote, “I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all of history.”
What a magnificent answer Daniel received! What an answer to Daniel’s prayer to restore his people. What a portrait of this masterpiece of God’s handiwork!
1. God’s Picture of Things to Come
2. God’s Timing for the Things We Need
3. God’s Purpose for the One We Cherish
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place” (Daniel 9:24).
Let’s lay aside the timing of the prediction and concentrate on the One who’s predicted.
Daniel has poured out his heart in prayer for God to restore His backslidden people. He prays that God’s people would have a zeal for God, an enthusiasm for worship, and a heart for obedience. Yes, he is praying for Jerusalem to be restored and the Temple to have fresh sacrifices again. That was all Daniel knew and was taught in the synagogues. But a bigger picture is this: Daniel is praying for God’s people to be restored and to come alive with fresh zeal for the things of the Lord. Daniel is praying for revival and spiritual awakening. This is a mother’s prayer for her backslidden children. This is a father’s prayer for his wayward children.
3.1 Two Big Purposes in Verse 24
So as soon as Daniel bows his head in prayer, the angel sweeps in swiftly to tell Daniel that his prayer has been answered. As a result of Daniel’s prayer, God reveals that He has two big purposes and He will accomplish these in seventy sevens. First, God has decreed that by the end of seventy sevens, He will overthrow evil: “to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity” (Daniel 9:24b). Second, at the end of seventy sevens, God will establish goodness and righteousness: “to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place” (Daniel 9:24c).
And you’ll notice that each of the two big purposes is broken down into three components each. There’s so much here and we have only so much time.
3.2 Put an End to Sin
In verse 24, the Bible tells us that in seventy sevens, God will “finish the transgression” and “to put an end to sin.” Remember that much of Daniel’s amazing prayer was a confession of sin (verse 3-19). The angel Gabriel says in effect, “God is ‘dialed in’ on taking care of sin and you won’t believe the plan that’s in place!” Compare verse 24 to the New Testament for a moment. Remember, the Old Testament is the promise made while the New Testament is the promise kept: “for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:26-28).
The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus came the first time to finish transgression and put an end to sin: “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26b). Jesus will come “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28b). Now, there’s no reason for Christ to “suffer repeatedly” to forgive your sins. Hear me carefully now as this can free up some people in chains this morning. Again, there’s no reason for Christ to “suffer repeatedly” to forgive your sins. All that was needed to wipe your sins away was this: “he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26b).
3.3.1 Repairman
Earlier this week, a repairman came by our house to fix our washer. It was leaking water and we paid the man to fix it. Do you know what I did after he left? Get this now. When the repairman left the house and the work was finished and the washer worked just as it was originally designed to work, I took apart the washer. I went out to the garage and got my toolbox with my sockets, wrenches, and tool. I got some old clothes on. I told my wife, Traci, she could not start a load of clothes until I finished repairing the washer. I felt it was necessary for me to fix what the repairman had just fixed. Does that make sense to you? Would anybody here repair what you just paid a professional to repair? Only a fool would fix something you just paid a repairman to fix. And my wife would have physically prevented me from getting near the washer!
Jesus is God’s divine professional to repair you, to forgive you, and to cleanse you. In the Old Testament, the people of God would repeatedly bring sacrifices to the Temple in order to seek God’s forgiveness. Many of you will accept Christ as your Lord and Savior but then spend years of your life repairing what Jesus has already fixed. Why would you seek to fix what Jesus has done a perfect job of repairing? Receive and trust in the work of Jesus Christ. You do NOT need to repeatedly accept Christ into your life over and over again. Receive the grace of Jesus and live in awe that Christ could conquer such a great monster as your sin! Trust some of the very last words of Jesus uttered on the cross, “It is finished.” In the Greek text, the cry itself is one word, telelestai. The word speaks of “perfect achievement.” If you are a child of God, your salvation is perfectly accomplished by the Son of God. Nothing needs to be added to the perfect work of Christ on the cross.
3.3.2 A Next-Generation Prayer
Now, a godly mother will have her children in children’s Bible study, VBS, kid’s camp, and literally everything possible to get the Word of God into her kids. A godly father and mother will open the Scriptures continually at home and dialogue about the importance of following Christ. And here at the end of Hebrews 9:26, we have a powerful prayer for the next generation: “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
We fervently pray that the next generation appreciates all that Christ has done for them on the cross. Our hearts break when anyone traffics in sin with callous disregard! How can anyone swim in sin and call themselves a believer and expect to arrive in Heaven to live for all of eternity where no sinful thing is allowed inside the city gates! Surely so many of this generation are backslidden! Surely we need the smelling salts of the Spirit to sweep across a generation to awaken them to the fact that sin nailed Jesus to the cross more than any Roman guard could do! Mothers, join me in passionate prayer that this next generation will live in light of the Second Coming of Christ. Mothers, you pray your children don’t just know facts about Jesus in their minds but they feel a passion for Him in their hearts. Pray that the next generation lives in awe that Christ could/would forgive them of the monster of sin living inside them. Pray that our children and our children’s children live for the Second Coming of Christ. This is how we pray.
3.4 God Loves Your Prayers
I want to remind you that if you have a godly mother who’s praying you are more wealthy than the latest lottery winner, my friend. You may not feel but you need to know it. Mothers, you need to pray with tremendous confidence knowing that God keeps a file in heaven of your prayers. Not one of your prayers is misplaced but each one of your prayers is treasured in the king’s archives. Don’t you know, my Christian friend, that God keeps count of how many times you have tossed around in your bed thinking about your children (Psalm 56:8)? Don’t you know, mom, that God put your very tears in a bottle, He keeps them in a book with your name on it (Psalm 56:8)? Yes, God has that much care for your loved ones and you.
Daniel sees a picture of Jesus who makes a clean sweep of sin of every kind, according to verse 24. Isn’t it time to slide out of being backslidden today, my friend? Isn’t it well past time to get serious and passionate about following the Lord Jesus Christ?
