24/07/22 –
Daniel 9:17-23
Daniel 9:17 – Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
Note the commencing of Daniel’s prayer: Daniel 9:3 – And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Up until now, Daniel has confessed the sins of Israel – including himself – (“And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession” – Daniel 9:4) and begged for forgiveness from God that he would turn away from the judgment that has come upon them (“O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers” – Daniel 9:16).
Now Daniel pleads, not for their sin to be swept under the carpet and ignored, but for God to show His “great mercies” (See vs 18 below) to them, not because they are righteous, but because God is merciful.
“Now therefore, O our God, (even though we do not deserve your favour) hearken to (listen to with regard to hearing and answering) the prayer of your servant (Daniel) and his supplications (pleadings for your favour).”
desolate – This has the idea of uselessness, of a wasting, of no benefit to anyone, so much so that instead of people coming to seek God, it has become the habitat of wild animals (foxes). Lamentations (of Jeremiah) 5:18 – Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary – To turn God’s attention favourably back to His sanctuary (His sacred temple). (The sanctuary here could be either the temple or Jerusalem, or even just Mt Zion which includes both. I have assumed the temple here.)
God has removed His favour (or blessing) from His temple (and the people removed as well, into captivity). The sanctuary has been made desolate! God has turned His face away from them and refused to deliver them from their enemies. God says that He will do this if His people turn away from Him (with even their own shepherds – their religious leaders – leading this apostasy).
Zechariah 11:6 – For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver [them].
Now Daniel pleads with God to turn His favour back to His people, to restore them to righteousness according to His “great mercies” (Vs 18 below), not for their sakes but for His sake, His glory.
Numbers 6:25-26 – 25The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious
unto thee: 26The Lord lift up his
countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Daniel 9:18 – O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
incline – to stretch out; to spread out;
to turn; incline; bend down; hold out.
incline thine ear, and hear
– That is, bend down to me and listen to my prayer. Of course, God doesn’t need to actually bend down and pay attention to our
prayers, but we tend to think of God as doing what we would do if we, as
humans, were God. This is called an anthropomorphism: ascribing to God
human actions and behaviours that we would relate to as human in such a
situation. Barnes says: “Pleading earnestly for his
attention and his favor, as one does to a man.”
The same phrase is prayed by King Hezekiah when Sennacherib
laid siege against Jerusalem.
2 Kings 19:16 – Lord, bow
down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the
words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and
behold – In fact, this whole phrase is the same as prayed
by Hezekiah. We picture God turning away from sin, hiding His face so that He
cannot pay attention and therefore won’t hear.
Isaiah 59:1-2 – 1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;
neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid
[his] face from you, that he will not hear.
Therefore, if we think of God turning His face away
from our sin, then it is logical to think of God turning His face back toward
us again, even bending down toward us. And even though God never sleeps nor
slumbers when it comes to watching over His people (Psalm 121:4
– Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.), “open thine eyes, and behold”
is not a blasphemy but actually a way of pleading with
God to have mercy on His people by dealing with their urgent need at that time.
So, Daniel is really pleading with God, according to His “great mercies”,
to turn His attention back to them, to bring an end to their captivity after 70
years as foretold, to turn their captivity back again to blessing.
Psalm 126:4-5 – 4Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. 5They
that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
“O Lord, look with favour upon our desolations, the appalling devastation of our people in captivity and also of our city (with its desolation) which is called by Your name (particularly the temple which is consecrated to Your name).”
Note that after their 70 years captivity was ended, Babylon was punished, eventually becoming a perpetual or everlasting desolation.
Jeremiah 25:12 – And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
“For we do not present our supplications (pleading for your favour) before You because we are righteous (for we are not righteous) but it is of your great mercies that we are able to plead such with You.”
Isaiah 64:5-6 – 5Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, [those that] remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 6But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Lamentations 3:22 – [It is of] the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Daniel 9:19 – O Lord, hear; O
Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God:
for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
Obviously God is always listening or else He couldn’t hear this prayer, so again it must be seen as a form of approaching God for His attention as we would understand approaching a person. It is another anthropomorphism, where we attribute to God the emotions and actions that we would associate with mankind.
It is actually a measure of Daniel’s strong feeling on this matter that he pleads with God to hear him. Daniel’s desire therefore is not really for God to just hear, but for God to act as well (“and do”): to forgive them their sin. Likewise, to hearken in order to do this “for thine own sake, O my God, for your city and your people are consecrated to the glory of your name.”
defer not – don’t
delay; don’t hinder; don’t tarry. Daniel pleads with God to not wait any longer
than originally promised (that is, 70 years).
God will not tarry because His judgment is for an appointed time
Habakkuk 2:3-4 – 3For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the
end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait
for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4Behold, his
soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in
him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Probably written not long before the captivity at Babylon.)
Daniel pleads with God to not tarry any longer. There is an urgency about this that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. It is always best to seek God’s mercy now rather than later!
Isaiah 55:6-7 – 6Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
for thine own sake – It is for God’s glory that He should forgive His people, for His own glory’s sake. It is of the “great mercies” (Vs 18 above) that God will not tarry, will not delay restoring His people to righteousness.
Isaiah 46:12-13 – 12Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted (or obstinate), that [are]
far from righteousness: 13I bring near my righteousness; it
shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place
salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
God does not need at any time to hear and forgive for His own sake, yet because He has covenanted to be their God and they His people, they are therefore His glory (or His shame, which was far more often the case). God could have cast off Israel at any time, and chosen a new nation to be His people.
Exodus 32:7-11 – 7And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
called by thy name – Because God has chosen to set Jerusalem and Israel apart for His own, then they are effectively a testimony to His righteousness, His reputation. However, when they sinned so much for so long, they were a reproach upon God’s holy name and therefore had to be chastened, rejected for a season, so that they might learn righteousness. They gave holy God a bad reputation!
Proverbs 14:34 – Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people.
Daniel 9:20-21 – 20And whiles I [was]
speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people
Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy
mountain of my God; 21Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer,
even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
confessing my sin – In spite of his holy living, Daniel knew that he was a sinner like the rest, and thus he was not exempt from the sin of his people.
He was also probably one of the royal family somewhere, and therefore was part of the collective shame that the judges and rulers of Israel had brought upon Jerusalem and its people. Thus he prayed not only for the sins of his people Israel, but he also adds himself to that collective unrighteousness of God’s people. Note also Daniel 9:4 where Daniel includes himself: “made my confession”.
my supplication … for the holy mountain of my God – Note that in Daniel 9:16, God’s anger and fury had been turned upon His city Jerusalem, His holy mountain (which had been profaned by the unrighteousness of His people). Daniel pleads with God to turn His anger and fury away from His people now (as their 70 years judgment is coming to an end). But note that it is because of the sins of His people that God’s mountain has been profaned. Thus, to cleanse His holy mountain, God has chosen to remove the filth (His people – removed for almost 70 years at this stage) and to let them return, hopefully a cleansed people who will have learned their lesson in righteousness by now. (But, as history shows, they went back, restored for a while, but they very soon fell back into their previous unrighteousness and worse, as Malachi records, not long after Ezra read out the law of Moses at the rebuilt temple maybe just over 100 years after Daniel prayed this prayer.
being caused to fly – It seems that this phrase may not actually refer to flying at all. It is used 9 times in the OT, 4 times as “weary” and 4 times as “faint”. Vs 21 above is the only place it is translated “fly”. It is translated “faint’ in Isaiah 40:31 – But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
It allegedly derives from a word meaning weariness; fatigue; faintness, although there is some confusion here; some think that it might mean “fly” anyway. It is probably more logical anyway to assume that “fly” is a reasonable translation, Gabriel being an angel, and angels are said to be able to fly.
swiftly – This term also derives from that word
meaning weariness; fatigue; faintness.
being caused to
fly swiftly – It could mean “being
caused to fly with weariness”, although it is possible
it actually means “being caused to fly in flight”. Various opinions render it
as “being borne quickly”, flying quickly”.
the time of the evening oblation – a sacrifice by law at the ninth hour of the day, 3pm.
While Daniel was yet in the process of speaking his prayers to God, confessing the sins of both himself and on behalf of his people, presenting his supplication (entreating of God’s favour by His mercy) for God’s holy mountain, while he was still praying, the angel Gabriel, whom Daniel had previously seen in his vision (see Daniel 8:16), touched him (clearly in order to let Daniel know that he was there). It must be assumed that Gabriel arrived quickly as Daniel hadn’t quite completed his prayer before Gabriel touched him. (In Daniel 10:10-13, Daniel has a much longer wait, in fact 21 days, before he gets an answer.)
Daniel 9:22 – And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
informed me – or made me understand (what it was he had come to tell Daniel)
talked with me – or spoke to me
to give thee skill – or to cause you to have insight or comprehension, to reveal these things. prudent; wise.
understanding – or discernment
Gabriel’s purpose is to assist Daniel to have insight (comprehension) and understanding (discernment) regarding what he is about to reveal to him. This would relate to Daniel 9:24-27, a passage that includes a timeline for the bringing in of everlasting righteousness for Israel. Daniel has been praying for Israel to be forgiven and for righteousness to return to Jerusalem and God’s holy mountain. But what Gabriel tells Daniel is not just a temporary righteousness after they return to their land, but a righteousness that will never end, a righteousness that even now has not come to Israel, but will come with the return of their Messiah for the millennial reign of Christ.
Daniel 9:23 – At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew [thee]; for thou [art] greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
for thou [art] greatly beloved – a single term meaning precious or desirable, a person to be desired.
“When you commenced praying your supplications for you and your people, the commandment (from God) went forth (to show you what you must understand.” That is, what Gabriel is about to tell Daniel is the consequence of his passionate prayer for the redemption of Israel. The final 4 verses of this chapter (Vss 24-27) refer to the eventual complete and eternal righteousness of Israel. Vss 24-27 demonstrate that not only has God never cast aside His people, Israel, but that He never will in the future, either. There are some (including calvinists) who teach that Israel today has either been rejected permanently by God, or that they will only exist as a sub-group of the Gentile Church. This is blatantly untrue, as Daniel 9:24-27 demonstrates, as also the following:
Romans 11:1-2a – 1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.
Daniel has been pleading for righteousness to be restored to Israel, and Gabriel is about to inform him concerning God’s total plan of redemption for His people Israel. Gabriel’s message is of critical importance here.
“I have come to show (or declare to you) this matter that God desires to impart to you. (That is, I am to inform you as to what is yet in the future for Israel.) Therefore, understand (have comprehension concerning) this matter and consider (with understanding) the vision (or the following revelation).” More on this next time.
Note carefully that Daniel writes about the 70 years captivity in Daniel 9:2 before he commences his prayer (Daniel 9:4) which is devoted to confession and pleading for righteousness for Israel. He is not obsessed with ending the 70-year captivity, but rather he is really obsessed with a desire for the righteousness that he sees as necessary to justify the end of their captivity.
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