BIBLE STUDY HOME
DANIEL — LESSON 11
Scriptures for Lesson 11 are taken from: Daniel 9, Jeremiah 29, and Deuteronomy 7.
We are coming to the last half of the book of Daniel and I need to state that Daniel 2:4-7:28 are written in Aramaic which is a language used by the Babylonians and the Jews. These chapters cover the visions concerning the nations of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek and Rome. Daniel chapters 8-12 are written in Hebrew because they focus mainly on the nation of Israel and what the future holds for them.
In chapter 8, Daniel had another vision of coming world kingdoms who would rule over Israel. He was taken to the Citadel at Susa which is in Persia where he was given this vision of the ram and the goat, representing the Kingdoms of the Medes and Persians and the Kingdom of Greece. His vision covered Antiochus Ephanies and his persecution of the Jews as well as the Antichrist who will rise up in the end time.
[Daniel 9:1] (1) In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom.
A man that Daniel calls Darius the Mede became king over Babylon in 539 BC. He was the son of Xerxes which is Greek for the Hebrew name, Ahasuerus. He is the same king that took over Babylon at age sixty-two as given in Daniel 5:30-31.
[Daniel 5:30-31] (30) That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, (31) and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
[Daniel 9:2-3] (2) in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. (3) So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel had been reading the writings of Jeremiah the prophet and discovered that Jeremiah had prophesied that Israel’s captivity in Babylon would last seventy years and those seventy years were about to come to an end.
[Jeremiah 29:10-14] (10) This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. (11) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (14) I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.
When Daniel realized from Jeremiah’s prophecy that the years of judgment for Israel because of their idolatry were coming to an end, he prepared himself for serious prayer time with God by fasting and humbling himself in sackcloth and ashes. Daniel loved God and he loved his people Israel, so he put all worldly things away from himself, out of his mind and prayed to God, asking what would happen to the Jewish people when the seventy years of captivity were over.
[Daniel 9:4] (4) I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments.
Daniel begins his prayer by praising God for who His, what He is and what He does. He is a great and awesome God! Then Daniel says that God keeps His covenant of love. A covenant is an agreement between two or more entities, each promising to do certain things. Here Daniel described God’s love as a promise to love, with all the actions that come with a true, deep, unconditional love, to all of those who love and obey Him. Israel also had to keep their part of the covenant which was to love and obey God.
[Daniel 9:5-15] (5) we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. (6) We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. (7) “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. (8) We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. (9) The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; (10) we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. (11) All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. (12) You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. (13) Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. (14) The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. (15) “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for Daniel confesses sin for himself and for the people of Israel. He acknowledged to God that they were wicked, rebellious and had failed to keep the commandments of God. When God sent His prophets to plead with them to repent of their sins, they refused to listen. The judgment declared by God of seventy years in exile in Babylon was just and deserved.
[Daniel 9:16-19] (16) Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. (17) “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. (18) Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. (19) Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.
After his lengthy confession to God of all of Israel’s sins, Daniel brings his requests before God. He pleads with God to turn His anger away from Jerusalem and the Holy temple of God because of their sin. He pleads with God to answer his prayer, not because they deserve it, but because of God’s mercy and His love and because the people bear His name. They are His people, Israel.
[Daniel 9:20-23] (20) While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill — (21) while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. (22) He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. (23) As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision.
The man who has come to Daniel is the angel, Gabriel. As soon as Daniel began to pray, God sent the angel, Gabriel to earth to give Daniel the answer to his prayer. These verses along with some in chapter 10 give us an insight into the spiritual world around us that is awesome. God heard Daniel’s prayer immediately and He sent the angel, Gabriel, to deliver His answer to Daniel on the earth. It says that Gabriel flew swiftly, angel really do fly. They move back and forth between heaven and earth doing God’s work. We will learn more about the activities of angels in chapter-10.
What are the lessons for us in the first part of Daniel chapter 9?
1. Daniel begins by earnestly searching for God.
2. He fasted. He put worldly things out of his mind and his life.
3. He put on sackcloth and ashes. He humbled himself.
4. He began by praising God for who He is and all that He does.
5. He confessed his sins and those of his people, Israel.
6. He brought his requests to God. He prayed for God’s mercy even though they did not deserve it.
In Lesson 12 we will study God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer. What will happen to my people, Israel when the 70 years of captivity have ended? The Angel Gabriel gave Daniel the Prophecy of the 70 Weeks. How to Pray? Daniel was highly esteemed by God and God heard his prayer immediately. This is how Daniel prayed. Daniel’s prayer is like unto The Lord’s Prayer or the model prayer found in Matthew Chapter 6.
Lesson 1 • Lesson 2 • Lesson 3 • Lesson 4 • Lesson 5 • Lesson 6 • Lesson 7 • Lesson 8 • Lesson 9 • Lesson 10 • Lesson 11 • Lesson 12 • Lesson 13 • Lesson 14 • Lesson 15 • Lesson 16 • Lesson 17