Daniel 9.3-Daniel Intercedes in Prayer on Behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon with Fasting, Sackcloth and Ashes Because of Jeremiah's Prophecy
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 19, 2013
Daniel: Daniel 9:3-Daniel Intercedes in Prayer on Behalf of the Jewish Exiles in Babylon with Fasting, Sackcloth and Ashes Because of Jeremiah’s Prophecy
Lesson # 258
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9:1.
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. (My translation)
Daniel 9:3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. (NASB95)
“I gave my attention” indicates that Daniel “devoted his full attention to” the Lord God.
“Lord” is the noun ʾǎḏō·nāy (אֲדֹנָי) (ad-o-noy´), which refers to the God of Israel expressing His sovereign authority over Israel and all of creation, and it also expresses the fact that Daniel views himself as inferior and subordinate to the God of Israel.
“God” is the noun ʾělō∙hîm (אֱלֹהִים) (el-o-heem), which emphasizes the transcendent character of the God of Israel, who the New Testament identifies as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This word refers to the Lord’s complete sovereign power over all creation and every creation and over every nation and ruler as evidenced by fulfilled prophecy.
The articular construction of this noun denotes the uniqueness of Daniel’s God, in that He is the one and only God, the Creator and Redeemer and Sovereign ruler over all of mankind and sets Daniel’s God in contrast to the gods of the heathen.
“To seek” is the verb bā∙qǎš (בָּקַשׁ) (baw-kash), which means “to offer, to present” referring to the act of Daniel presenting a prayer request to God for the restoration of Jerusalem.
The preposition lĕ is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb bā∙qǎš and governs it and is a marker of means indicating that Daniel devoted his full attention to his Lord, the one and only God “by” repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of a plea for mercy on behalf of Jerusalem.
“Prayer and supplications” is composed of the noun tep̄il∙lā(h) (תְּפִלָּה) (tef-il-law´), “prayer” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and,” which is followed by the noun tǎ·ḥǎnûn (תַּחֲנוּן) (takh-an-oon´), “supplications.”
The noun tep̄il∙lā(h) means “prayer request” referring to Daniel’s prayer request on behalf of the Jewish exiles as a result of understanding Jeremiah’s prophecy.
The noun tǎ·ḥǎnûn is in the plural and means “pleas for mercy” referring to Daniel’s request from his God to withhold judging Jerusalem and in particular the Jewish exiles in Babylon as a result of His Word he communicated to Jeremiah regarding the restoration of this city after seventy years.
The conjunction wa is used to join the nouns tǎ·ḥǎnûn and tǎ·ḥǎnûn in order to communicate one idea, which is called “hendiadys.”
Therefore, these two words express one idea, namely that Daniel offered up prayer requests to his God, yes, pleas for mercy for Jerusalem and the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
So this figure of hendiadys emphasizes that Daniel’s prayer request was in fact a plea for mercy for Jerusalem and the Jewish exiles.
“Fasting” refers to the act of depriving the body of nourishment.
Fasting was done for a variety of reasons.
First of all it was done by nations as a sign of sorrow in the wake of a national tragedy (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 31:13; 1 Chronicles 10:12; 2 Samuel 1:12; 3:35; Esther 4:3; Jeremiah 14:1-12; Joel 1:14; 2:12-15).
It was also done by individuals of course who experienced sorrow or suffering (1 Samuel 1:7-8; 20:34; Job 3:24; Psalm 42:3; 102:4; 107:17-18).
Fasting was also a sign of repentance from national or corporate sins and was an act of seeking forgiveness from God as a nation (1 Samuel 7:6; Ezra 9:1-10:17; Nehemiah 9:1; Zechariah 8:16-19).
Daniel and Nehemiah fasted individually over their nation’s corporate sin as a demonstration of humility and repentance (Daniel 9:3-14; Nehemiah 1:4-7).
Many believers in the Old Testament fasted while in intercessory prayer for others (2 Samuel 12:16-23; Nehemiah 1:8-10; Psalm 35:13; Daniel 6:18; 9:15-19) or when offering personal petitions (1 Samuel 1:7-11; Nehemiah 1:11; Psalm 109:21-24; Daniel 9:3; 10:1-3).
Leaders prayed and fasted before battles (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; 2 Chronicles 20:3) and for relief from famine (Jeremiah 14:1-12; Joel 1:14; 2:12-15) or for success in other areas (Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:16).
The Lord Jesus Christ encouraged fasting as an aid to one’s personal devotion to God (Matthew 6:16-18).
The first century apostolic church engaged in corporate fasting and prayer meetings (Acts 13:2-3).
Fasting was used as an aid to experiencing God’s presence (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8) and as an act of ceremonial public worship (Nehemiah 9:1; Esther 9:31; Isaiah 58:3; Jeremiah 36:6-9; Zechariah 7:3-5; 8:19).
Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther initiated fasts even though the Mosaic Law did not require them.
“Sackcloth” refers to a rough clothe that was coarsely woven, usually from goat hair and then dyed.
Daniel clothed himself with sackcloth as a sign of repentance on behalf of himself and the Jewish exiles in Babylon and that he was seeking forgiveness from God for himself and the nation.
“Ashes” refers to that which is the result of burning.
In the ancient world, sitting in ashes was a customary sign of grief and mourning (See Jeremiah 6:26; Job 2:8; 42:6; Esther 4:1, 3).
Daniel 9:3 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)
Daniel presents the result of understanding Jeremiah’s prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14, which made clear that Jerusalem, would lie desolate and abandoned for seventy years but then God would bring back the Jewish exiles to the land of Israel.
So as a result of understanding this prophecy Daniel tells the reader that he devoted his full attention to his Lord whom he describes as the one and only God.
He does this by repeatedly presenting prayer request in the form of pleas for mercy while fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel 9:4-19 make clear that Daniel’s prayer was on behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
So what Daniel is telling the reader is that as a result of understanding that the seventy years for the desolation of Jerusalem was almost complete, he devoted his attention to his God by repeatedly offering up an intercessory prayer request for the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
He understood that the reason why God delivered the Jews over to Nebuchadnezzar and allowed this king to destroy Jerusalem and send the surviving Jews into exile was that God was disciplining the nation of Israel for their apostasy.
Daniel knows that the majority of the Jewish exiles have not turned back to God by learning and obeying His Word.
Even though the book of Daniel up to this point has made clear that Daniel was not involved in this apostasy, he identifies with the nation so as to intercede on their behalf.
Daniel was faithful and yet he prays for those who are unfaithful in Israel that they would repent by returning to learning and obeying the Word of God.
This demonstrates the love of God in Daniel’s life in that he intercedes for others and specifically those who have rebelled against God.
God desired the Jewish exiles to repent and Daniel knew that God wanted this, thus Daniel prays for them.
His prayer request was a plea for mercy for these apostate Jewish exiles.
Daniel confesses the sins of the Jewish people and acknowledging to God that He was right to discipline the nation severely for their apostasy.
He appeals to God’s merciful character to forgive the nation for its sin since the nation he acknowledges has no merit with God whatsoever.
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.
They should have been in sackcloth and ashes and fasting to demonstrate humility before God and repentance.
Yet Daniel does this for them.
Also, Daniel is obeying the Word of God.
In fact, he is applying 1 Kings 8:33-36 to his situation with the Jewish people.
Daniel is doing exactly what Solomon spoke to God at the dedication of the temple he built.
Thus, we see Daniel claiming the promises of God.
Therefore, we can see that Daniel built his prayer life upon the Word of God, which gives us a great example here in the church age in the twenty-first century.
Prayer is asking God’s will to be accomplished.
Daniel understood this and thus prayed in accordance with the teaching of the Word of God in order that God’s will would be accomplished with regards to the nation of Israel.
Daniel understood that God employs prayer as the means by which He fulfills His Word.
The prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14 prompted Daniel to pray in the first place for the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
This is another great example for Christians to follow during the church age.
The study of prophecy should prompt believers to intercede in prayer on behalf of those in apostasy in the church as well as to intercede in prayer on behalf of the unsaved.
Prophecy should thus produce a humble attitude in us which leads to confession and prayer for oneself and others.
Notice that when Daniel understood the prophecy of Jeremiah, he did not wait for God to bring to pass the restoration of Jerusalem but took this as a cue from the Spirit of God to intercede in prayer on behalf of the apostate Jewish exiles in Babylon.
The city of Jerusalem is nothing without its people.
Thus, Daniel prayed for the Jewish people so that the city would be rebuilt and populated and used for God’s glory again.
We must remember that God didn’t need Daniel’s prayer to fulfill the prophecy He gave to Jeremiah.
Intercessory prayer is for us since it develops our faith and love for the body of Christ.
This is why Christians should never become discouraged when they pray for their fellow believers who are in apostasy and yet see no repentance in these individuals.
The Christian should keep praying for these individuals since it will develop the love of God in their lives.
So we should pray because this is good for our growth spiritually even if we see no changes in the lives of those in apostasy.
Remember God wants their repentance and yet some never repent and die the sin unto death.
But God always desired for them to repent and grow to maturity because as to His nature He is love meaning that He always desires the best for His children.
So the Christian should keep praying since this is what God wants them to do and is beneficial for their spiritual growth.
Notice, that Daniel tells the reader that he devoted his full attention to intercessory prayer on behalf of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
We know from chapter six, he prayed three times a day.
Thus, Daniel’s prayer was not a casual nod to God but rather he was concentrating upon what he was saying to God.
There was a sense of urgency in his prayer and intensity.
His prayer was characterized by concentration.
Fasting and the wearing sackcloth and ashes were employed by Daniel as a means to aid in his devotion to God in prayer.
They were expressions of his humility before God in that he recognized that he had no merit with God and was placing himself at the mercy of God.
He was fasting because he was seeking forgiveness for the Jewish exiles and that God would intervene by restoring the exiles to Jerusalem.