Daniel, A Pattern For Pleaders (Charles Spurgeon)

Daniel 9:1-19

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LXI Daniel: A Pattern for Pleaders (No. 3,484)

DANIEL was a man in very high position in life. It is true he was not living in his own native land, but, in the providence of God, he had been raised to great eminence under the dominion of the country in which he dwelt. He might, therefore, naturally have forgotten his poor kinsmen; many have done so. Alas! we have known some that have even forgotten their poor fellow-Christians when they have grown in grace, and have thought themselves too good to worship with the poorer sort when they themselves have grown rich in this world’s goods. But it was not so with Daniel. Though he had been made a president of the empire, yet he was still a Jew: he felt himself still one with the seed of Israel. In all the afflictions of his people he was afflicted, and he felt it his honour to be numbered with them, and his duty and his privilege to share with them all the bitterness of their lot

The most powerful thing about this prayer was the recognition of the problem...... “we have trespassed against Your Law”

Sin is the only problem between us and God.....Daniel knew this and you can probably say that the report of Daniel is one of a faithful saint, that had stood by faith against all the leaders of these powerful empires that held Israel captive!

Interestingly, the terror of these empires and the destruction of Jerusalem was upon the Jews because of their disobedience to God, their sin, and this was their punishment.

That is what Daniel was reading from the prophet Jeremiah 25:11 “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

This was a decree of the Lord because of that Israel had not obeyed, they had rebelled and went their own way.

But Daniel always seemed to have the correct fear of the Lord!

He lived his life unto the One and Only True God. In the face of human leaders that yielded power of many lands, Daniel knew that God is the only One to serve.

He was blessed for it too! In the Babylonian empire and after the Medes/Persians took over Babylon, Daniel was always moved up to high positions in those governments.

In the face of heathens and while in captivity, Daniel served God and was rewarded by those heathens because of the effects of his faith!

However, even though he was prospering during this time of captivity, he never forgot Whose he was and he never forgot Israel, God’s covenant people!

As long as God’s people was suffering and as long as God’s Holy City was suffering, no matter how well off Daniel was, he never lost sight of his kinsmen and their responsibility to God!

Nehemiah had the same heart...........Nehemiah 1:6-8 “Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:”

In Ezra as well..........Ezra 9:6 “And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.”

No matter the conquest of these empires, Daniel knew Who was over all and why this was happening!

It is all because of sin!

Daniel did not remove himself from the sin of Israel, he knew that he was just as guilty, even though when he was taken in captivity, he was probably a teenager.

In chapter 9, Daniel is around 80 years old.

We have sinned....is the declaration of Daniel and he declares to the Lord the our faces only deserve shame.

God had shown nothing but mercies and forgiveness, even in their rebellion.

They continually refused to obey God’s voice, to walk in God’s Law.

All of Israel has done this and in spite of all the evil that has come upon Israel, they still didn’t make their prayer before the Lord God......listen this important......... “that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.”

This is the problem with Israel as it is with all people.......Daniel didn’t ask for the Lord to take away the evil empires, basically Daniel pleaded to God for forgiveness!

Turn Your anger and fury away from us, because of our sins and iniquities of our fathers......

Sometimes we get lost in the situation and forget Who it is that we are living unto!

Daniel was despaired and troubled by what was happening to Israel, but he knew why and he went to the True Source and recognized the true problem!

God sends an answer to Daniel’s prayer, immediately! In the midst of Daniel’s prayer Gabriel came from the face of God and touched him and began to inform Daniel of the answer to his pleading!

This is important, the answer to his prayer was given to Daniel right away, but the actual time it happens is in the future......Daniel will not be on earth for to see the answer take place!

This prophecy is rather difficult to understand and there many interpretations of it, I believe there is one that is correct. I am not going to dwell on it long, but just to say that God answers Daniel’ prayer with hope and promises!

This hope is established and set and is not something that is weighing in the balance! It is decreed by the Maker of all things, by the Author and Finisher, The Beginning and The End.

Gabriel reveals to Daniel a time period of 70 weeks.....which is interpreted “Seventy, seven year periods!

The first 69 has been accounted for in history and the last 7 year period is yet to come, which will be the 7 year tribulation!

From the decree by man to restore Jerusalem is where we start counting and what I believe is the correct time to start is when King Artaxerxes decrees the rebuilding of the Holy City in 444 BC or 445 BC to the day Jesus enters Jerusalem (Triumphant Entry) is 483 years.

There is some debate about what year it was, but if you go by the calendars of that time period, it brings you so close to 483 years that there should be no debate about it!

Gabriel revealed the coming of Israel’s Messiah, their deliverer! This was God’s answer to Daniel!

The last 7 year period, the Great Tribulation, will be when Israel is brought back to God!

It will be a horrifying time, but none the less, it will be a restoring of a spiritual relationship between the nation Israel and God!

I love this, because the answer to the pleading was a promise and a hope......Jesus is our hope, our promise!

Jesus is Daniel’s hope and promise!!

I said all of that to say this, it seems that I and a lot of people get lost in living in this world that we don’t see ourselves as Daniel saw himself!

He very well could of thought of himself as the most faithful to God, because of what happened during captivity, him being blessed during that time!

Instead of seeing blessing, he was still troubled by their captivity and he knew why, when he read Jeremiah’s prophecy from God!

It was no longer about deliverance from earthly hands, it was about pleading for forgiveness from Great and Dreadful God, the Only One to Whom we live unto!

God used Daniel in this time period because Daniel never lost sight of Who he lived unto!

Daniel knew that all of this was God’s doing, not man’s!

You know, Daniel could of went around saying “I am blessed and highly favoured”, but instead he declared himself a sinner along with his fellow kinsmen.

I think we look at the situation and get our minds set on how the situation turns out rather than Who is responsible!

God is the only One responsible, whatever is evil is allowed upon us because of our disobedience and whatever is good is only given because of the mercy and forgiveness of God!

How many times have you prayed when things are going good in your life, “Lord, let your fury and anger be turned away from us!”?

Daniel was living well, along with power......but he knew what this was all about!!!!

I heard a preacher say it this way....... “It is though with one hand God is holding back His wrath and with the other hand pleading for men to come to Him, but one day both hands will be dropped.”

Daniel knew Who was the Author of it all!

There is only One Answer to the prayer of Daniel, that is Jesus......He is the only answer to the true prayer of anyone! Daniel never physically saw our Messiah come to earth to save!

Another fact about this prophecy given, is that the time period between Jesus’ ascension and to the rapture is not counted here!

This is the time of Grace!

Hebrews 6:18-20 “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Jesus was the promise given to Daniel and us......Is that enough for you?

Is the grace of Jesus Christ sufficient for you in your time of trouble?

If and only if we understand our peril, which is with God not man, then Jesus will be enough!

But....if our troubles are in the world then the world is all we will get!

We have a promise and a hope, that should be the anchor for our souls and we do not have to be in fear of things to come or things that are........we have an assurance that is in Jesus Christ, that we don’t have to be dictated by what is going on around us, but just by the assurance that we have in Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”