Daniel 9.22-Gabriel Informs Daniel That He Was Sent by God to Impart to Him Understanding
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday November 27, 2013
Daniel: Daniel 9:22-Gabriel Informs Daniel That He Was Sent by God to Impart to Him Understanding
Lesson # 277
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. 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. 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, 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! 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. 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. (My translation)
Daniel 9:22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.” (NASB95)
This verse presents the next event that took place after the event recorded in verse 21, which records Daniel telling the reader that while he was interceding in prayer to God for the Jewish exiles in Babylon, the elect angel Gabriel touched him.
“O Daniel” demonstrates Gabriel’s great respect for Daniel.
“I have come forth” is the verb yā·ṣā(ʾ) (יָצָא) (yaw-tsaw´), which means “to come forth, to emerge from, to proceed from” some location referring to coming up or proceeding from an area with linear movement indicating that Gabriel is telling
Undoubtedly, Gabriel proceeded from the throne room of God which is located in the third heaven, beyond the earth’s atmosphere and the stellar universe.
“Now” is the independent personal pronoun ʾǎt·tā(h) (אַתָּה) (at-taw´), which means “now, at the present time, at this time” and is emphasizing the present circumstances in which Gabriel was providing Daniel with instruction regarding God’s program for Israel.
It expresses the urgency and importance that Daniel receive this instruction in order to communicate it to Israel and the rest of the world.
“To give you insight with understanding” presents the purpose for which God sent Gabriel to Daniel.
“To give you insight with understanding” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “to” and its object is the verb śā∙ḵǎl (שָׂכַל) (saw-kal), “give insight” and then we have the second person masculine singular independent personal pronoun ʾǎt·tā(h) (אַתָּה) (at-taw´), “you” which is followed by the noun bî∙nā(h) (בִּינָה) (bee-naw), “with understanding.”
The verb śā∙ḵǎl means “to impart” in the sense of providing information to a student for the purpose of having them gain understanding with regards to a particular subject.
Thus, Gabriel is telling Daniel that he came forth from the throne room of God in order to impart to him understanding with regards to God’s program for the nation of Israel.
The noun bî∙nā(h) means “understanding” in the sense of having a mental hold or comprehension of a particular subject.
This indicates that God sent Gabriel to planet earth in order that he might impart to Daniel “understanding” with regards to His program for the nation of Israel.
Daniel 9:22 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.” (My translation)
After touching Daniel, the elect angel Gabriel then proceeded to speak with him.
Specifically, Gabriel gave him instruction.
This angel informs Daniel that he came forth from the throne room of God in order to impart understanding to him.
The prophecy of the seventy weeks recorded in Daniel 9:24-27 makes clear that what Gabriel came to impart to Daniel was understanding with regards to God’s program for the nation of Israel since this prophecy pertains to just that.
This prophecy of the seventy weeks would not only be an answer to Daniel’s intercessory prayer for the Jewish exiles in Babylon in 539 B.C. but would go beyond that since it provides Daniel information with regards to God’s program for the nation of Israel.
Remember, Daniel was interceding for the Jewish exiles in Babylon because of Jeremiah’s prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14.
This prophecy states that the Jews would remain in Babylon seventy years because of failing to keep the sabbath rest for the land seventy times but after which time they would be restored to the land. Daniel was praying that God’s will for Israel as revealed in Jeremiah’s prophecy would be accomplished.
Daniel’s prayer for the Jewish exiles as recorded in Daniel 9:3-19 makes clear that this is what Daniel was praying for.
However, Gabriel provides him more information with regards to the future of the nation of Israel than he asked for, which fulfills the principle taught by Paul in Ephesians 3:20 that God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
Therefore, the prophecy of the seventy weeks not only answered Daniel’s prayer that the Jewish exiles would return from Babylon to their homeland after seventy years but also provided Daniel a comprehensive understanding of God’s program for the nation of Israel.
The prophecy not only made clear that Jerusalem would be rebuilt but that her Messiah would appear but would be rejected.
She would be disciplined again for rejecting her Messiah and Jerusalem would once again be destroyed.
The nation would also be deceived into entering into an agreement with someone who will stop the sacrifices in the temple but would be destroyed in the end.
So the prophecy tells Daniel informs him that Israel would continue to rebel against God and would thus again be disciplined by Him severely but this corporate apostasy would come to an end.
Her corporate sin would be dealt with, which we know was dealt with through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Everlasting righteousness would be experienced in Israel and all that God predicted with regards to the nation of Israel would come to pass.
So through the prophecy of the seventy weeks, which Gabriel communicated to Daniel, God was providing Daniel with more information than he could ever dream of.
God was presenting him with a comprehensive outline of the future of Israel.
Thus, when Gabriel says to Daniel that he had come forth in order to impart understanding to him, he means understanding with regards to God’s program for the nation of Israel.