| Subject: Dan. Chap 9 vss 1-19 post 44 |
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Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 20:17:42 07/13/10 Tue
CHAPTER 9
Daniel's Prayer of Confession and Repentance
Daniel 9:1-19 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 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, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 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. 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. 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.
Verses 1-3 set the stage for the prayer that follows. It was in the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede who was made king over the realm of Chaldea. Oliver Greene places the year as 538 B.C. As Daniel went into captivity in 606 B.C. according to Greene. This would mean that 68 years of the captivity had been completed when Daniel prayed this prayer. According to verse 2 Daniel understood by reading books that the 70 years of captivity had almost run it's course and the captivity was to return to Jerusalem and Israel. 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. (Also Jer. 27:21-22) Is it not interesting that Daniel understood through reading scriptures and was not given a direct revelation that 70 years was determined upon the captivity to fulfill their punishment?
In verse 3 we see the preparation for the following prayer of Daniel. His preparation consisted of fasting, sackcloth and ashes. Daniel didn't just suddenly enter into prayer. He fasted and humbled himself before the mighty God that his prayers might be heard and answered.
There is a great lesson in this for us if we want to be heard in our prayers. We must be in the condition to pray. For a prayer of the type that Daniel prayed one must be in very close communion with God. God only accepts the humble and the proud He will reject.
The first thing in Daniel's prayer is confession. (vs.4) This is all important in prayer. We cannot come to God on the merits of our righteousness for we have none. We admit we are sinners and come to the Lord from the standpoint of His mercy and not our merit. God honors those that fear before Him and love Him.
Notice in verse 5 as Daniel confesses the national sin of Israel. Sinned, committed iniquity, done wickedly and rebelled against God and His commandments. Verse 6 we didn't listen to the prophets you sent. We can say today we are not listening to the God called preachers who are shouting the warnings. In 7 through 9 Daniel places righteousness with God and His judgments on Israel as being righteous. They deserved what they had received at the hand of God.
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Verse ll acknowledges the deliberate disobedience of Israel and the resulting curse as Moses warned them. in Leviticus 26 starting with verse 13. If you will read this chapter you will see that God laid out in great detail exactly what was to befall them several centuries down the road.
Finishing out the verses through 19 Daniel is basically acknowledging that God has brought righteous judgment as He said He would and he is pleading that God now bring an end to the punishment at he said He would. Remember in verse 2 we are told that Daniel understood by the books written by the prophets exactly what time it was according to own words concerning this 70 year captivity and punishment.
As we read and understand all this that Daniel is praying we should know and understand that what befell Israel is falling on America today. While God has not decreed 70 years captivity to America, He has stated "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God". (Psalm 9:17) America, as a nation, has turned her back on God. We can expect no less than the punishment promised in Leviticus 26.
The key to escaping the judgment of God on this nation is found in Daniel's prayer. Not only what he said but the way he said it. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
America needs godly men and women falling on their faces before God and in humble contrition confessing our faults and praying for mercy. That is the only thing that God will accept.
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