Daniel 9

Last Time

Daniel Had a Vision About a Ram that Represented the Medo-Persian Empire

And a Goat with One Horn in Between its Eyes that Represented the Grecian Empire

The Goat Killed the Ram and Then its Horn Broke

In its Place Sprouted 4 Horns for the 4 Generals Who Took Alexander the Great’s Place

One Horn (Antiochus IV) Exalted Itself and Persecuted the Host of Heaven (Saints of God)

The Angel, Gabriel, was Sent to Explain the Great Persecution that Would One Day Happen to God’s People

But One Day God Will Cause that Persecution to End

Daniel 9:1-19

In this Lesson, We are Going to Focus on One of the Most Beautiful Prayers of Confession and Supplication in the Entire Bible

We’ve Seen How Amazingly Faithful Daniel and His Friends Were

Now We are Going to Get to Hear One of the Most Faithful Men in World History Pray to His God

The First Few Verse Set the Scene for Us

Daniel 9:1–3 (NASB)

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—

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 YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

This Chapter Takes Place About 12 Years After Chapter 8’s Vision

If Daniel was 15 When Taken into Babylon, He Would Be Over 80 Years Old at this Point

Now We are in the First Year of King Darius (Probably Another Name/Title for Cyrus, King of Persia)

After the Regime Change from Babylon to Persia, Daniel Started Studying His Bible

Daniel Noticed Something Interesting in the Book of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 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.

Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares YHWH, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.’

Jeremiah 29:10 (NASB)

“For thus says YHWH, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Jeremiah Seems to Be Saying After 70 Years of Exile, Babylon Will Be Punished and the Jews Will Get to Go Back Home

So Daniel Started Praying to God with Fasting in Sackloth and Ashes

This was the Common Practice of a Person Who was Turning to God in Humility and Grief

Daniel 9:4–19 (NASB)

I prayed to YHWH 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,

Daniel Begins With Addressing God’s Faithfulness to Keep His Covenant With His Faithful People

The Proper Way to Begin Our Prayers to God is in Adoration of His Wonderful Characteristics and Traits

we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.

But Israel Hadn’t Been Faithful in Their End of the Covenant

Even the Faithful and Righteous Daniel Had Sins to Confess

So Daniel Then Moves from Adoration to Confession of His and Israel’s Sins

“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.

God Had Given Them Fair Warning to Repent

“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.

“Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.

“To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;

nor have we obeyed the voice of YHWH our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.

“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.

In Deuteronomy 28:15, God Begins Telling Israel that They Would Be Cursed if They Refused to Stay Faithful to God

The Curse Has Been Poured Out

“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.

“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of YHWH our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.

“Therefore YHWH has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for YHWH our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

Daniel Acknowledges that it was Right for God to Punish Israel for Their Sins

“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.

“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.

Daniel Now Moves from Adoration and Confession to Petition

Only in this Order Does Daniel Feel Qualified to Make Requests of God

“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.

“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.

Daniel Isn’t Asking for God’s Mercy and Compassion Because of Anything that the Jews Have Done to Deserve it…

But Because of His Great Compassion

Compassion = The Hebrew Word for Womb

God’s Love, Mercy, and Compassion for Israel is Like a Mother’s Love for Her Little Baby in Her Belly

“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.”

In this Prayer, Daniel Acknowledges the Righteous Punishment of God on Israel

Daniel’s Prayer of Confession is Totally God-Centered

There was No Making Excuses or Passing the Buck

It was All About Recognizing that God Did the Righteous Thing By Punishing Israel

And Now Daniel is Calling for God to Do the Right Thing By Showing Compassion to Israel

It is the Righteous Thing to Do Because God Promised He Would

Deuteronomy 30:1–3 (NASB)

“So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where YHWH your God has banished you,

and you return to YHWH your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons,

then YHWH your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where YHWH your God has scattered you.”

Daniel Calls for God to Show Compassion for His Own Name’s Sake

God’s Greatest Purpose in this World is to Be Glorified so that All Will Know and Love Him

Daniel is Using the Same Approach that Moses Took in Persuading God to Show Mercy

Numbers 14:12–16 (NASB)

“I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

But Moses said to YHWH, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst,

and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O YHWH, are in the midst of this people, for You, O YHWH, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

‘Because YHWH could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

God, Show Mercy, Not On Our Account, But for Your Own Glory’s Sake

So that the Nations Will See Your Fierce Wrath Against Sin

But Also Your Boundless Compassion Toward Penitent Faithfulness

That is One of the Most Beautiful Prayers in All of the Scriptures

We Need to Learn from it How We Should Approach God’s Throne of Grace in Our Time of Need

Application

When We Read this 80+ Year Old Daniel’s Prayer, We See a Sort of Form and Structure to it

He Began with the Right Mindset

He Came to God with Humility and Genuineness

He was Grieving, Therefore He Came to God in Grief

We Need to Be Humble But Real with God in Our Prayers

He Knows Where You are Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, and Spiritually

There’s No Need to Try and Hide that From Him

Pour Your Feelings Out to Him

1 Peter 5:6–7 (NASB)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

He Prepared Himself to Approach the Throne of Heaven

We Already Know He Set Time Aside 3 Times a Day to Talk to God

And On this Occasion, He Fasted and Covered Himself with Sackcloth and Ashes

This Wasn’t Just a Prayer You Whisper to Yourself When You Have a Few Seconds During the Day

He Prepared Himself to Approach God’s Throne

This is Something I Need to Do Much Better Myself

There’s Nothing Wrong With Having Casual Conversation Open with God Throughout the Day

But There’s Nothing Like Preparing Time to Do Nothing But Speak to the Father

He Showed Praise and Adoration Toward God

Daniel Did this Throughout His Prayer

Jesus Also Taught His Disciples to Start Their Prayers with Praise and Adoration

Matthew 6:9 (NASB)

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

He Confessed His and His People’s Sins

Daniel Knew the Importance of Confessing Sins

Not Just His Own, But His People’s/Nation’s

Christianity Isn’t Just About Individuals

It’s About Community and Family

When is the Last Time You’ve Confessed the Sins of Your Siblings in Christ or Nation?

Jesus Also Taught His Disciples to Confess and Ask for God’s Forgiveness

Matthew 6:12 (NASB)

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Lastly, He Made Requests of God

Only After Getting in the Right Mindset, Preparing Himself, Praising God, and Confessing His Sins Did He Then Plead with God to Give Him What He Desired

A Father Who is as Loving, Compassionate, and Gracious as Our Father Loves to Hear from His Children and Answer Their Prayers for Their Good

Matthew 7:11 (NASB)

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Pray Before Invitation Song

Prepare Our Minds

Adoration

Confession

Petition