DANIEL SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER
9.1.Introduction
Gleanings
from the Book of Daniel:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
DANIEL
Chapter
Nine
The Prayer of Daniel
The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
Introduction
Chronologically, the ninth chapter does not follow Daniel 8.
Instead, it flows out of what Daniel envisioned in Chapter 8. The Events of Daniel 8 transpired in the
third year of Belshazzar’s reign while Chapter 9 occurred in the first year of
Darius’ reign. So, Belshazzar’s feast and the fall of Babylon took place
between Chapters 8 and 9.
At the close of Daniel 8, God’s prophet
had become sickened and astonished by his second vision and the angel Gabriel’s
interpretation. In his vision, he had seen a panorama of Gentile history and
the oppression that would befall his people Israel. Being burdened by this
revelation caused him to collapse. The content of Chapter 9 focuses on Daniel’s
prayer and the astonishing prophetic answer to his prayer.
A Prayerful Servant of God
Daniel was an extraordinary man of
prayer and learned how to fully trust in God. His contemporary Ezekiel writes
of him as exceptional in righteousness and places him in Scripture equivalent
to Noah and Job (cf. Ezekiel 14:12-14).
His godly upbringing surfaced when the
Babylonians attempted to erase his heritage and have him conform to their
lifestyle. At the commencement of his captivity, Daniel provides a true glimpse
of his character by adhering to the standards of holy living particularized by Mosaic
dietary laws (cf. Leviticus 18:24-30):
Daniel
1:8 - But Daniel purposed in
his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:
therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile
himself.
Prayer
Definitions of Prayer
Merriam Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary (11th Edition) defines praying as such:
Pray: a. To make a request in a humble manner.
b. To address God or a god with adoration, confession,
supplication, or thanksgiving.
Zondervan’s New
International Dictionary of the Bible explains prayer in this way:
Prayer: In the Bible prayer is
the spiritual response (spoken and unspoken) to God, who is known not merely to
exist but to have revealed himself and to have invited his creatures into
communion with himself. Thus prayer
covers a wide spectrum of addressing and hearing God, interceding with and
waiting for the Lord, and contemplating and petitioning our Father in heaven.
Prayer
According to Scripture
Old
Testament
Job 22:27 - Thou shalt make thy prayer unto
Him, and He shall hear
thee, and thou shalt pay
thy vows.
Isaiah 30:19 - For the people shall
dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very
gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.
Jeremiah 29:12 - Then
shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken
unto you.
New Testament
Mark 11:24 - Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall
have them.
John 15:7 - If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done
unto you.
Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Daniel, the Prayer
Warrior
Throughout his book,
Daniel is observed praying to God in difficult situations. Listed are two
instances before Chapter 9:
1. Daniel’s decision to enlist his friends to a prayer vigil. His
rationale was by casting themselves upon the mercy of God, Daniel would be able
to interpret the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to avoid persecution.
Daniel 2:17-19 - Then Daniel went to his
house, and made the thing
known to Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego), his companions: That they would
desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret;
that Daniel and his fellows should not
perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night
vision. Then
Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
2. Daniel’s decision not to pray to the king's image put him in violation of civic law. But, he remained
loyal to his God by continuing to follow David’s pattern of prayer (cf. Psalm
55:17) at the same time risking persecution.
Daniel 6:10 - Now when Daniel knew
that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave
thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
3. Daniel’s decision to earnestly pray for his people Israel upon
the realization that a great prophecy about them was about to be fulfilled.
Daniel 9:3 - And I set my face unto
the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
Hence, Daniel was
committed to daily prayer, thrice daily, on his knees, and facing Jerusalem.
Outline of Daniel Chapter 9
Part I (Prayer)
1. The Occasion of the Vision (Vv. 1-2)
2. The Prayer of Daniel (Vv. 3-19)
Part
II (Prophecy)
3. The Appearance of Gabriel (Vv. 20-23)
4. The Response of the Lord (Vv. 24-27)
Overview of Daniel 9
The first half of Chapter 9 contains a long eloquent prayer by
the prophet Daniel. It is about the future of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple,
the Antichrist, and the Messiah. His prayer is a culmination of a life of
prayer.
In the first section, instructions are provided to the reader on
how to pray, a model of prayer, an example of prayer, and insight into Daniel’s
character. And so Daniel intercedes in prayer on behalf of his people Israel.
In the second section, the answer to Daniel's prayer is provided
regarding God’s program for the restoration of Jerusalem, the Temple, and
Israel’s seventy-year captivity. Concurrently, the most comprehensive outline
of the End Times is also revealed for the Seventy Weeks, i.e., 7 weeks of years
(discussed in a future study).
Part
I (Prayer)
1. The
Occasion of the Vision (Vv. 1-2)
(Verse 1)
In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the
Chaldeans.
King Darius
Darius (cf Daniel
5:31), the son of Ahasuerus, king of Persia is also identified in secular
history as Cyaxares II. The word Darius
seems to indicate an official title. The expression seed of the Medes simply means Darius was of Median descent.
It is significant to
note Daniel does not confuse Darius with Cyrus the Great, king of the
Medo-Persian Empire. Darius was merely appointed a vassal king, no doubt, by
Cyrus to rule over ancient Babylon i.e., the realm of the Chaldeans. He was the
immediate successor of Belshazzar and the predecessor of Cyrus.
The Setting
The background
occurred in the first year of Darius. He began his reign in the spring of 588
B.C. and continued until the spring of 537 B.C. More than 10 years had passed
since Daniel’s last prophetic vision, and it is about 66 years from when Daniel
had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar.
(Verse 2)
In the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came
to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
The setting continues
as Daniel is absorbed in recording precise times of events. So, the first year
of Darius’ reign over Babylon was also the first year of Cyrus’ rule over the
Medo-Persian Empire. And, Daniel had been engrossed in studying the Old
Testament Hebrew scrolls that were privately preserved (see the context of 9:10-13).
Most likely Daniel was
reading the prophet Jeremiah’s predictions when he came upon a section where
the seventy years of Jerusalem’s desolation (waste, ruin) was nearing its completion.
In God’s sovereign purpose and plan, God gave Jeremiah detailed information
concerning Babylon’s destruction, Israel’s redemption, and Jerusalem’s
restoration.
Two passages in the book of Jeremiah notate these events with
accurate precision:
The Destruction of Judah
Jeremiah 25:8-14 - Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard My words, Behold, I will send and take all the
families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king
of Babylon,
My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against
all these nations round about, and will utterly
destroy them,
and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual
desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the
voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the
sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a
desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of
Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) seventy
years.
The
Destruction of Babylon
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I
will punish the king of Babylon, and
that nation,
saith the LORD, for
their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that
land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this
book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings
shall serve themselves of them also: and
I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their
own hands.
The Destiny of Israel
Jeremiah 29:10-14 - For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years
be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to
return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an
expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken
unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. And I
will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather
you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you
again into the place (Israel) whence I caused you
to be carried away captive.
After
Daniel read Jeremiah, he understood this prophecy was about to be fulfilled and
he immediately began to pray diligently. The subsequent study will focus on
Daniel’s prayer and how it was born out of studying the Word of God.
QUESTIONS:
1. What prompted Daniel’s prayer from
Chapter 8?
2. What is a concise definition of prayer?
3. How does Daniel example a committed
prayer warrior?
4. What is the basic outline of Daniel 9?
5. Who was Darius?
6. What was Jeremiah’s prophecy against Babylon?
7. What was Jeremiah’s prophecy for God’s
people?
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