July 9, Daniel 9
"At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision." - Daniel 9:23
Example is a powerful teaching tool. Most of us are visual learners. We learn new skills and gain confidence to use those skills by watching someone who knows how do the thing we want to do. Did someone show you how to tie your shoes? Have you learned to cook by reading a recipe, or better yet, watching a YouTube video of someone preparing a meal you want to make? We learn from others and teach others through the power of example.
It's true in spiritual matters as well as ordinary matters. Take prayer for instance. Most of us learned some technique and vocabulary for prayer from hearing other people pray. Jesus taught his disciples to pray by giving them an example. David taught Israel and continues to teach us today how to pray through psalms he wrote. Other kings and prophets prayed noble, earnest prayers in their times of need that help us express our own fears, requests and thanksgivings.
Daniel's prayer in Chapter 9 is one of the finest examples of a godly man's prayer in all Scripture. He began with reverence: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments...." He confessed in deep humility and shame: "We have sinned and done wrong, and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules." He acknowledged that God was right to do what he had done to punish them, and petitioned God for mercy and forgiveness. He asked God to act on their behalf for his own glory. He appealed to God to grant them the freedom to return to their homeland and rebuild the desolate city of Jerusalem.
Daniel, an inspired mighty prophet of God, learned from studying the Scriptures that the time of their exile was coming to an end. That knowledge gained from study energized and guided his prayer as he asked God to do what he had already promised to do. His earnest pleas to get them home and rebuild their city were fueled by his faith in God. He trusted God’s promises, and was confident that God would do just as he had spoken through Jeremiah's prophecy.
Some answers to prayer may seem to be delayed from our vantage point. But in this case, Gabriel assured Daniel that as the prophet began praying, God sent him with a reply to inform and encourage the praying prophet. Gabriel told Daniel about a span of time he called seventy weeks. (Remember in this type of literature, numbers are more often symbolic than literal.) The seventy weeks referred to the time between Israel's restoration to the land and the coming of Messiah and his redemptive work. Through Gabriel, God gave Daniel a sweeping view of God's plan. More troubles were ahead for the people of Israel. Centuries would pass, but God would send Christ when the time came. He would redeem the people and put an end to sacrifice. Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed again in the future because of the Jews' disobedience and rebellion when they rejected Christ.
We may not know the meaning of all the symbolic weeks. Lots of scholars disagree about how to interpret and apply those weeks. But we can still take some valuable lessons from this chapter that are not hard to understand.
Let's learn from Daniel's prayer. He modeled the components of effective prayer as he praised God, confessed sin and asked God in trusting faith to do what he had promised to do. Our posture in prayer should be one of reverence, never arrogance. We make requests, not demands when we pray. We appeal to God's mercy, not our merit as the basis for the blessing. We trust that he will hear and answer at the right time. We ask with confidence because we have learned from experience that God is a gracious Father who loves his children and delights in blessing them.
In these challenging chapters, let's not allow the things that are hard to understand to blind us to what is clear. I'm so thankful for this chapter's beautiful descriptions of our Father's mercy, and for Daniel's example of how to approach our awesome God.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—July 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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