Daniel 9

Dan 9:1-2 NASB In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans– (2) in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

  • When did these events occur?
  • What was Daniel doing?
  • Why do you think Daniel was reading scripture?
  • What scripture was Daniel reading? (Jer 25:11-12)
  • Why do you think he was reading this scripture at this time? Reflect on the events that he has just experienced?
  • How was Daniel learning from and using prophecy in his life?
  • What does this teach us about Daniel’s prayer life? How can we learn from this?

Dan 9:3-14 NASB So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. (4) I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, (5) we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. (6) “Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. (7) “Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day–to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. (8) “Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. (9) “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; (10) nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. (11) “Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. (12) “Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. (13) “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. (14) “Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

  • How did Daniel approach God? Should we model the same attitude?
  • How would you describe his prayer to God in these verses?
  • Daniel was seeking God about a specific scripture reference. God explained that the 70 years exile was for a specific reason (Lev 25:33-35) but Daniel was drawing from transgressions far beyond that specific one. Why do you think he was doing this?
  • What belongs to God and what belongs to the Jews, according to Daniel. Why?
  • Is Daniel’s confession general (e.g., we have sinned against you) or is it specific? What does this reveal about our own confessions?
  • Was Daniel’s confession about himself, or the people in general?
  • Why has God kept Israel in calamity?
  • Righteousness – tsedakaw in Hebrew describes the attitude and actions God had and expected His people to maintain. He is unequivocally righteous; righteousness is entirely His prerogative. His people are to sow righteousness, and they will receive the same in return (Hos_10:12). He dealt with His people according to their righteousness and blamelessness (2Sa_22:21; Eze_3:20). Faith in God was counted as righteousness to Abraham (Gen_15:6); and obedience to the Lord’s Law was further evidence of faith that God considered as righteousness (Deu_6:25). (The Complete Word Study Dictionary)
  • What character of God is revealed in verses 3-8?
  • What turn does the prayer take in verse 9?
  • What character of God is revealed in verses 10-14?

Dan 9:15-19 NASB “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day–we have sinned, we have been wicked. (16) “O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. (17) “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. (18) “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. (19) “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

  • What turn does the prayer take at the point of verse 9?
  • What does Daniel recognize in verse 16 that lays the foundation of his petition? Do you think this is important for us to do in our own prayers?
  • Daniel asks for God to shine his face on His sanctuary and listen to his prayers. He asked for mercy based on God’s righteousness, not on the nation’s. Is this prayer consistent with God’s word and character? When we pray, do we always pray God’s word and character or may we sometimes pray our will and character?

Dan 9:20-23 NASB Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, (21) while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.  He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. (23) “At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.

  • When did God instruct Gabriel to come to Daniel?
  • How long did God wait before giving Daniel an answer?
  • What does this reveal about God’s character?
  • What does the angel tell Daniel?
  • Does this instruction apply to us today?
Dan 9:24-27 NASB “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. (25) “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. (26) “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. (27) “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”    Dan 9:24-27 NLT “A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (25) Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. (26) “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. (27) The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”    
  • Notes: these numbers are in years since that is the context that Daniel was thinking (Dan 9:1 and his reference to Jer 25:11-12). The actual translation is not 70 weeks, but 70 sevens. The NASB translated the word sevens into weeks. Daniel’s people thought in terms of sevens or heptads (whereas we think of things in base 10). Seven days are in a week, every seventh year was a sabbath year of rest for the land (Lev 25:1-7), and seven sevens brought the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-12).
  • The total number of years to atone for transgressions was 70 sabbaths of the land (Lev 26:34-25) or 490 years would be required to complete 70 sabbatical years with one occurring every seventh year.
  • Who is this decree for, the world, the “Church” or the Jews? This is important to understand when to apply the span of time.
  • What 6 things will God have completed by the end of this 490 years:
    • For Sin
    • For the kingdom

REFERENCES

Jer 25:11-12 NASB ‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (12) ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.

Lev 26:33-35 NASB ‘You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. (34) ‘Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. (35) ‘All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.

ANSWER KEY

  • For Sin
    • Finish (bring to an end) transgression (rebellion) of Israel
    • To make an end of sin
    • Atone for wickedness
    • For the kingdom
      • Bring in everlasting righteousness
      • Seal up vision and prophecy
      • Anoint the Most Holy Place

Fulfillment of God’s promised blessings through His covenants:  (Gen_15:18-21; 2Sa_7:16; Jer_31:31-34).