Introduction: Daniel is now an old man. He has been a captive and a
foreigner for most of his life. His fondest hope has been to have his
country and God’s sanctuary rebuilt so that the Jewish people could
go home and properly worship God again. With that background, let’s
jump into our study of Daniel 9!
- The Prayer
- Read Daniel 9:1-3. When was Daniel praying? (The first
year of King Darius. The Bible Knowledge Commentary
identifies this as 539 B.C. – 66 years after Daniel had
been exiled.) - Do you remember Darius?(Read Daniel 5:30-31. Darius,
the Mede, followed Belshazzar as ruler when the Medo-Persians defeated the Babylonians. This tells us that
Daniel’s prayer follows in time his vision of chapter
8. Compare Daniel 8:1.) - What is Daniel praying about? (Daniel is praying
about Jeremiah’s prophecy ( Jeremiah 29:10)that the
destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the
Jews would last for only 70 years. Since Daniel is 66
years into his exile, we can understand why he is
praying about this topic.) - Read Daniel 9:4-6. What got the people into trouble?
- What does Daniel say about the people and prophecies?
(Daniel tells us that the people have a rebellious
attitude. They act on that attitude by disobeying
God. Further, they do not listen to God – this is
shown by the fact that they ignore His prophets.) - Why is the attitude of the people so important?
(Daniel says that God keeps His covenant of love with
those who love and obey Him. Daniel may be concerned
that God will not bring His people back home after 70
years if they are out of line with God’s will.) - Read Daniel 9:11-13. What did Moses write that had been
fulfilled against Jerusalem? (In Deuteronomy 28 Moses
wrote that if God’s people were faithful they would be
blessed. If they were not faithful, things would not go
well for them. Daniel is writing that God’s people have
gotten what they deserved.) - Is the Deuteronomy 28 principle still at work today?
- Read Daniel 9:14. What is the bad news? (That after all
this, God’s people have still not learned their lesson.) - Read Daniel 9:15-16. To what historical fact does Daniel
refer? (The Exodus from Egypt.) - Why does he refer to the Exodus? (It shows that God
has, in the past, been willing to rescue His people
from slavery. Even people who had not turned back to
Him. God has shown mercy and love to rebellious
people. Thus, Daniel suggests that God should do this
again to his people who are in captivity in Medo-Persia. - Read Daniel 9: 17-19. On what basis does Daniel ask God to
consider and do something about His promise regarding
Jerusalem? ( Daniel 9:17: Because Daniel, God’s servant is
asking. Daniel 9:18:God’s mercy. Daniel 9:19: God’s name.) - In Daniel 9:19 Daniel asks God to forgive His people. Can
Daniel confess the sins of others? (Consider 1 John 5:16-17 and Job 1:4-5.) - The Answer
- Read Daniel 9:20-21. Who shows up? (Gabriel – the angel
who came to see him before. We previously learned that
Gabriel stands in the presence of God.) - How do you like the timing of God’s response?
(Gabriel left heaven when Daniel began his prayer and
arrived while he was still praying!) - What time of day did Gabriel show up? (The time of
the evening sacrifice.) - What “evening sacrifice” is Daniel talking
about? (Daniel was so focused on the sanctuary
service that he “tells time” based on when the
evening sacrifice would have taken place. Of
course, no sacrifice is taking place on earth
because the sanctuary was destroyed before.
Indeed, that was the main reason Daniel was
praying, he looked forward to God fulfilling His
promise to rebuild the sanctuary in Jerusalem.) - Read Daniel 9:22-23. Understanding about what? What is the
topic on which Daniel needs greater understanding?
(Clearly the topic of the sanctuary in the vision of
Daniel 8. Daniel is thinking and praying about restoring
God’s sanctuary. The last time Gabriel spoke to him
( Daniel 8:14 and Daniel 8:26) it was about the sanctuary
service. But, Daniel did not understand then. (Daniel
8:27) So, Gabriel picks up where he left off last and
continues his prior discussion. An interesting point is
the Hebrew word used for the vision in Daniel 8:26, 8:27
and 9:23 is the same root word: “mareh.” Thus, Gabriel’s
insight and understanding about the “vision” in Daniel
9:23 is about the same vision spoken of in Daniel 8:26 &
27.) - Read Daniel 8:13-14 and Daniel 8:26-27. What is of
continuing interest to Daniel? (Daniel wants to go home.
Daniel wants the Jewish sanctuary to be rebuilt and God’s
people to properly worship him. Daniel has the most keen
interest in this, but so far he cannot understand this
prophecy that deals with this subject.) - Let’s get back to Daniel 9. We are going to take just a
peek at next week’s study. Read Daniel 9:24. “Seventy
`sevens'” is an odd term. What do you think a “seven”
means? (“Seven” would logically refer to a week. A week
has seven days. Thus, Gabriel is speaking about 70
weeks.) - How long is seventy weeks? (Seventy weeks would be
about a year and a third (1 1/3). - Read Daniel 9:25. Who do you think is the “Anointed One?”
(See Acts 10:37-38. This refers to the Messiah – Jesus.) - If you were Daniel, what would you be thinking right now?
- Will the sanctuary in Jerusalem be rebuilt? (Yes!
Daniel’s fondest hope is going to be fulfilled.) - Will it be easy to rebuild?
- Read Daniel 9:26. What is the bad news? (The sanctuary
gets destroyed again! The Anointed One is cut off. It
sounds like a terrible tragedy.) - Friend, next week we will study in detail this seventy
week prophecy that so concerns and excites Daniel. Our
God is interested in us and He wants us to know that He
controls kings and kingdoms and our future. Our future
depends in part upon our actions. Jesus is coming again!
Are you ready? Have you confessed your sins and relied
upon God’s mercy for your salvation? - Next Week: 70 Weeks.
