Daniel Receives the Seventy Weeks Prophecy from God in Response to His Prayer for Israel

Daniel received the great seventy weeks prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27) as a result of prayer.

Daniel 9:1 During Darius’ first year, Ahasuerus’ son, who was from Median descent, who was made king over the Chaldeans’ kingdom. 2 During the first year of his reign, I myself, Daniel understood by means of the scrolls the specific number of years which the word of the Lord communicated to Jeremiah the prophet for completing devastating Jerusalem-seventy years. 3 Therefore, I devoted my full attention to my Lord, the one and only God by repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of pleas for mercy while fasting with sackcloth as well as ashes. (My translation)

The wearing of sackcloth and ashes by Daniel and his fasting while offering up this intercessory prayer for the Jewish people was on behalf of the Jewish people who should have been in sackcloth and ashes and fasting to demonstrate humility before God and repentance and yet Daniel does this for them.

Also, Daniel is obeying the Word of God and in fact, he is applying 1 Kings 8:33-36 to his situation with the Jewish people and thus, he is doing exactly what Solomon spoke to God at the dedication of the temple he built.

Daniel 9:4 Indeed, I caused myself to enter into prayer to the Lord my God. Specifically, I caused myself to enter into confession and said, “O my Lord, the one and only God, the Great One yes the Awesome One, who is faithful to His covenant because of His unconditional love on behalf of those who love Him, namely on behalf of those who conscientiously observe His commands.” (My translation)

In Daniel 9:4, Daniel tells the reader that he caused himself to enter into prayer with his God.

He then specifies a particular aspect of prayer he began with, namely confession on behalf of the nation Israel which constituted an intercessory prayer for the nation.

Daniel 9:5 “We have sinned, thus we have done wrong so that we have been condemned as guilty because we have rebelled. Specifically, we have deviated from Your commands, that is, from Your laws. 6 Furthermore, to our own detriment, we never paid attention to Your servants, the prophets who spoke by Your authority to and for the benefit of our kings as well as our leaders and in addition our ancestors, yes, to and for the benefit of all the people belonging to the land. 7 You are righteous my Lord but we are publicly disgraced as is the case this very day. To the detriment of the Judean people as well as to the detriment of Jerusalem’s inhabitants likewise to the detriment of all Israel, those nearby as well as those far away in all the countries where You have driven them because of their unfaithfulness which they perpetrated against You. 8 We are publicly disgraced Lord, to the detriment of our kings, to the detriment of our leaders as well as to the detriment of our ancestors because we have sinned against You. 9 My Lord, our God is merciful as well as forgiving even though we have rebelled against Him. 10 Specifically, to our own detriment, we never paid attention to the Lord, our God’s voice by living by means of His laws which He gave in our presence through His servants, the prophets. 11 Indeed, all Israel has transgressed Your law. In other words, they deviated to their own detriment by never paying attention to Your voice. Consequently, the sworn judgment was poured out against us, which was written in the law given to Moses, the servant of the one and only God because we have sinned against Him. 12 Specifically, He carried out His words which He spoke against us as well as against our rulers who ruled us by causing a great disaster to take place against us, which has never taken place under all heaven like what has taken place against Jerusalem. 13 As what is written in the law given to Moses, all this disaster has taken place against us. However, we never sought the Lord’s favor, our God by turning from our iniquity followed by giving heed to His truth. 14 Therefore, the Lord was vigilant concerning this promised disaster in order to cause it take place against us because the Lord, our God is righteous with regards to all His actions, which He has performed. However, to our own detriment, we never paid attention to His voice. 15 Indeed, now my Lord, our God who caused Your people to be brought out from Egypt by means of great power so that You made a name for Yourself as to this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. 16 O Lord in keeping with all Your righteous acts, please, I beg of You, turn away Your anger, yes, Your righteous indignation from Your city, Jerusalem, Your holy mountain. For by means of our sins as well as by means of our ancestors’ iniquities, Jerusalem as well as Your people are a disgrace among all those around us. 17 Therefore, at this moment, our God, please respond favorably to Your servant’s prayer request, yes, favorably to his pleas for mercy. Indeed please cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary for the sake of my Lord. 18 Please incline Your ear O my God! Indeed, please respond! Please open Your eyes! Yes, please see our desolate ruins, namely the city which bears Your name because we are by no means repeatedly presenting our pleas for mercy in Your presence on behalf of it on the basis of our righteous acts but rather on the basis of Your great merciful acts!” (My translation)

Daniel describes Jerusalem as bearing God’s name which means that this city is God’s possession since it is the place in which He established the worship of Himself.

The destruction of this city has caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of God and thus, Daniel wants God to fulfill his request because he wants the Gentiles to stop blaspheming God because of the sins of the Jews.

So Daniel is making this request of God because of His reputation among the nations and not because of any merit on the part of the Jewish exiles.

Also, by responding favorably to Daniel’s request to refrain from exercising His righteous indignation against Jerusalem, God would be fulfilling the prophecy He gave to Jeremiah recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14 and thus Daniel is asking God to fulfill His Word to Jeremiah.

Daniel 9:19 “O my Lord, please hear! O my Lord, please forgive! O my Lord, please pay attention and then act! Please do not delay O my God for Your own sake because for the benefit of Your city as well as for the benefit of Your people, they are called by Your name!” 20 Now, I myself was still speaking specifically praying, namely confessing my sin as well as my people’s sin, Israel and in addition presenting my request for mercy in the Lord, my God’s presence on behalf of my God’s holy mountain. (My translation)

Let’s summarize what we have learned thus far.

First, in Daniel 9:3, Daniel tells the reader that he devoted his full attention to his Lord, the one and only God by repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of pleas for mercy while fasting with sackcloth and ashes.

In verse 4, he says that he caused himself to enter into confession but before doing so he praises the character and nature of the God of Israel.

Then, in verses 5-16, he enumerates the sins of Israel which caused God to discipline the nation by sending Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and Judah and to exile a small remnant to Babylon.

In verse 17, Daniel tells the reader that he asked God to respond favorably to his prayer request, yes to his pleas for mercy by doing so God’s face would shine upon His sanctuary, the temple.

He tells God in verse 18 that when he is presenting these requests, he is doing so on the basis of His merciful acts rather than Israel’s righteous acts.

Lastly, in verse 19, he implores the Lord to forgive Israel and restore Jerusalem for His own sake since the Gentile nations were blaspheming His name because they erroneously believed that the Babylonian gods defeated Israel’s God.

Thus, for the sake of God’s name, Daniel presents his request to restore Israel to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and rebuild Jerusalem so that it could again be the center of the worship of the true and living God, which would bring glory to God since it would manifest His omnipotence and sovereignty.

Daniel 9:21 As I myself was still speaking during this prayer request, then that man, Gabriel, whom I had seen during the previous vision, touched me as I was faint in a state of weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 Then, he spoke with me, yes he provided instruction and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth in order to impart to you understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a message went forth so that I myself have come in order to reveal it because you are considered precious. Therefore, consider carefully this message. Indeed, you are to understand this revelation.” (My translation)

The book of Daniel reveals there were many reasons why God considered Daniel precious in His sight.

First of all, he was obedient to His Word even to the point of death which is revealed in chapter one since he refused to eat Nebuchadnezzar’s food and drink his wine since this would have made him ceremonially unclean or in other words, if he at this food he would be disobeying the dietary regulations of the Law.

In chapter six, he was devoted to God in prayer to the point of self-sacrifice since he refused to obey the king’s edict which prohibited the people in his kingdom from praying to their god for a month.

Daniel continued to pray three times a day as was his custom despite this edict and he suffered the death penalty but was delivered by God.

Daniel was also dependent upon God as evidenced by the fact that he and his three friends turned to God in prayer when they were under the sentence of death because Nebuchadnezzar ordered the death of all the wise men since they could not tell him the content of his dream and this dependence demonstrated his humility.

In chapter nine, Daniel demonstrates his great love for his fellow Jewish countrymen by interceding in prayer for them to God.

The content of his prayer demonstrated that his soul was saturated with the Word of God and thus, chapter nine again reveals that he was a man of prayer and the Word.

Daniel’s prayer was prompted by the revelation God gave Jeremiah, which said that after seventy years in Babylon, God would return the Jews to the land of promise.

Daniel immediately entered into prayer that this would take place and thus, he was praying according to the will of God and was desiring what God wanted.

Daniel’s prayer in chapter nine also reveals that he was greatly concerned about God’s reputation among the heathen.

The destruction of this city and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon has caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of God, thus, Daniel wants God to fulfill his request because he wants the Gentiles to stop blaspheming God because of the sins of the Jews.