Daniel comes to realise (from Jeremiah 25:11 and 29:10) that the time of Israel’s desolation was coming to an end. God had sent his people into a dark place so that they would see the light more clearly. He wanted them particularly to see how they had grieved him. So, Daniel acknowledges this and prays a prayer of confession that is one of the most profound and moving prayers of Scripture. He acknowledges the surety of God’s promise but rightly assumes that it will not be realised except through prayer. So he prays for what God had promised. To such a remarkable prayer a remarkable answer is given. Gabriel gives Daniel the time range in which his people would be delivered, and he seems to be hinting here at more than just political deliverance. How the seventy sevens should be interpreted has been a matter of debate amongst scholars and it is impossible to give due attention to that here. It is interesting to note, however, the period of sixty-two sevens after which “the Anointed One (Hebrew: Messiah) will be cut off”, if dated from the decree of Artaxerxes I (Nehemiah 2:1) in 445BC, using 365 days to the year and adding extra days for leap years, falls on 30AD when Jesus was crucified. Daniel got far more than he asked for, and isn’t this always the case! If you were perplexed by reading these verses then be comforted by the fact that Daniel would have been too. But he understood what he needed to understand: God was going to answer his prayer in ways beyond what he could fathom.
Pray this prayer for yourself and your community.
Read Daniel 9
