Bible Studies
Daniel’s Prayer to the Lord God (Dan. 1:1-6)
Series: There is a God in Heaven (Studies in the Book of Daniel)Introduction:
1. Daniel was known for praying, kneeling three times a day, making petition and supplication and giving thanks to his God (6:10-11). 2. There is much to be said for the regular habit of prayer, but for some it becomes like a child’s letter to Santa Claus, a mere wish list to satisfy personal desires. 3. But Daniel saw himself and his people as part of the unfolding plan of God and so prayed recognizing God’s activity in his historical circumstance.Discussion:
I. The historical circumstance that motivated his prayer (9:1-2).A. It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.
1. Babylon had now fallen to the Medo-Persian Empire.
2. This change reminded Daniel of the time of the end of the captivity.
B. God had revealed to Jeremiah the number of years that they would be in captivity.
1. Jer. 25:11-12—“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 the seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation declares the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”
2. Jer. 29:10-14—“For thus says the Lord, 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. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all hour heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.”
C. Daniel considered what Jeremiah had said, as the word of God. Recognizing that God was in control he prayed.
1. Daniel had been taken into captivity in 606 B.C.
2. The seventy years was about up.
3. The end of the Babylonian Empire and the rise of Darius motivated Daniel’s prayer.
II. Daniel’s prayer was first a prayer of confession and then a prayer for deliverance (9:7-19).A. Daniel’s prayer reveals his humiliation and penitence.
1. To us belongs open shame (7, 8).
2. You see a cooperate perspective. It is not just Daniel’s personal sin, but also the sin of his nation that is his concern.
3. They have been scattered because of their unfaithfulness. It is not merely a matter of issues associated with governmental powers—various nations having military might, but about their relationship to God.
4. “Our princes, kings and fathers have sinned against You” (v. 8).
5. “We have rebelled” (v. 9) and “have not obeyed the voice of the Lord to walk in His teachings, which He set before us through His servants the prophets” (v. 10).
6. “We have transgressed Your law and turned aside” (v. 11).
B. Daniel’s prayer reveals his understanding of the nature of God.
1. God is righteous.
2. He keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments (v. 4).
3. Note how his perceptions are shaped by Deut. 7:9ff.
4. He understands that God has communicated through the Prophets (v. 10).
5. Now they are experiencing, as the result of their disobedience, the curse poured out on them promised through Moses (vs. 11-14; cf. Deut. 28:15ff; 29:19-21, 25-28). Daniel sees the prophecies of Moses, Jeremiah and the Prophets as interpreting history from God’s perspective. It is God’s truth (v. 13).
6. The summary: “Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice” (v. 14).
C. Daniel’s prayer calls on God to act (15-19).
1. God brought them out of Egyptian bondage, now bring us out of Babylonian bondage.
2. His request is not based on any merits of theirs, but on the basis of God’s compassion.
3. It is a request for God’s forgiveness.
III. Gabriel brings an answer (9:20-23).A. The answer is given in apocalyptic language.
B. Seventy units of seven (weeks) are decreed.
1. During this period v. 24 says, transgression will be finished, an end of sin, atonement will be made, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, vision and prophecy will be sealed up, the most holy will be anointed.
2. The beginning will be marked by the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
3. This will involve a period of 7 weeks and 62 weeks—a total of 69 weeks. The end of this period is marked by the coming of the Messiah.
4. After this the Messiah will be cut off and the city will be destroyed and its sanctuary.
C. E. J. Young says, “This passage is one of the most difficult in all the O.T. Interpretations are legion.” We cannot address these in this study. If you want to investigate these I recommend Young’s The Prophecy of Daniel. I will offer one and only one interpretation. You can evaluate it on its merits, considering the others as you wish.
D. Here is a simplified explanation.
1. Cyrus the king of the Medo-Persian Empire authorized the return of captives (cf. 2 Chron. 36:22ff; Isa. 44:28; 45:13; Ezra 1:1-4). Note the Cyrus Cylinder.
Photo from British Museum
2.
| Cyrus 536 B.C. | The Messiah | Titus 70 A.D. |
| Ezra/Nehemiah | Jerusalem destroyed | |
| cross | ||
| verse 25 | verses 26-27 |
3. 70 periods of verse 24
| 7 sevens ---> | 62 sevens ---> | 1 seven |
A. God is in control.
B. There is hope for the people of God in captivity.
C. While the future is difficult God has a plan. He is sending His Messiah.
D. While there will be an end to the temple sacrifices God is still in control and He has a plan.
E. On the basis of what is revealed in the N.T., even though the Messiah is cut off, God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand. The power of sin is destroyed by the payment of the life of the Messiah on the cross. Entrance into the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah is now preached.
Conclusion:
1. The God who stands above time revealed the events of history. 2. Daniel trusted in what He said. He confessed and asked for God’s deliverance. 3. Will you do the same?
