A prayer and a promise

Introduction

1. The Prayer Daniel Prayed (v. 20)

Daniel’s Position - Scripture/God’s Word

v. 2

Jeremiah 25:11 NASB95

11 ‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jeremiah 29:3-11

v. 11/13

Deuteronomy 27:15-26

Deut 28:15-68

Leviticus 26:14-45

v. 12

Jeremiah 44:2 NASB95

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them,

Lamentations 2:17 NASB95

17 The Lord has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.

Daniel’s Posture - Humility

v. 3

Fasting, Sackcloth, and ashes

Fasting is the withholding of food from the body for the sake of prioritizing something else, such as prayer. Sackcloth was a rough material, most likely made from animal skins that would have been an irritant to the skin, and was a mark of repentance. Ashes symbolized complete ruin. In other words, the posture Daniel took was of visible lament.

- David Helms (Daniel for you, 159)

Exalting Jesus in Daniel Let Your Prayers Humbly Take You into the Presence of God (Daniel 9:3)

Daniel humbled himself to pray. Jesus humbled himself both to pray and to prepare for his passion. It is truly unconscionable that we would ever think to burst into God’s presence in arrogance or pride, in hubris or vainglory. When we know our sins and the sins of our people, we will approach God on our knees and with our faces to the ground.

vv. 5-6, 8- - We

Daniel’s Petition - God’s Character/Glory

v. 18

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 9

for we are not dpresenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.

v. 7, 9, 16

v. 19

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 9

do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

2. The Answer God Provided (vv. 21-23)

Gabiel (v. 21)

Daniel 8:16 NASB95

16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.”

Insight and Understanding (v. 22)

At the beginning (v. 23)

James 4:3 NASB95

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

James 5:16b

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

2. The Prophesy God Promised (vv. 24-27)

v. 24 - Seventy weeks

“seventy sevens” 490 years

the effects (Jesus)

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

to anoint the most holy place.

v. 25 - Sixty-nine weeks

Broken down

7 Weeks (49 years)

62 Weeks (434 years)

Total 69 weeks (483 years)

Issuing of a decree

the command to “restore and rebuild Jerusalem” was given by King Artaxerxes of Persia c. 444 B.C. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8).

The first unit of 49 years (seven “sevens”) covers the time that it took to rebuild Jerusalem, “with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble” (Daniel 9:25). This rebuilding is chronicled in the book of Nehemiah. Converting the 360-day year used by the ancient Jews, 483 years becomes 476 years on our solar calendar. Adjusting for the switch from B.C. to A.D., 476 years after 444 B.C. places us at A.D. 33, which would coincide with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9). The prophecy in Daniel 9 specifies that, after the completion of the 483 years, “the Anointed One will be cut off” (verse 26). This was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified.

v. 26-27 - Seventieth week

Tribulation - final judgement

Matthew 24:15-21

Matthew 24:29-31 (Dan 7:13)

We also have a reference to the last half of the tribulation in Daniel 7:25. There, the ruler will oppress God’s people for “a time, times, and half a time” (time=1 year; times=2 years; half a time=½ year; total of 3 ½ years). This time of oppression against the Jews is also described in Revelation 13:5–7 and is part of the “great tribulation,” the last half of the seven-year tribulation when the beast, or the Antichrist, will be in power.

Conclusion

Matthew 24:42-44