So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him (Daniel 9:3-11).
Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name (Daniel 9:12-19).
Darius the Mede was appointed king over Babylon in 539 b.c. (Dan. 9:1). In the first year of his reign, the prophet Daniel, by now an old man who had spent most of his life as a Babylonian captive, was reading the scroll of the prophet Jeremiah (25:11; 29:10) and realized Israel's 70 – year captivity was soon to end (Dan. 9:2). So he humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes and began a season of prayer and fasting of unspecified duration (v.3).
Daniel's prayer for Israel provides an insightful glimpse into the prophet's commitment to God and is a model for earnest, intercessory prayer.
First, Daniel praised God as great and awesome, who keeps His covenant with and extends mercy (loyal love) to all who love and obey Him (v.4). He also recognized God as transcendent, righteous, and just in His dealings with unfaithful Israel (vv. 7, 14, 16) and acknowledged God's justification in punishing Israel for its sin.
Second, Daniel repented of his own sins against God and then those of Israel. Four times he repeated the phrase We have sinned (vv. 5, 8, 11, 15), accepting responsibility for his personal sins and those of his people. He specifically listed iniquity, wickedness, rebellion, and unfaithfulness and confessed that Israel had departed from God's precepts and judgments (v.5) and failed to heed the prophets (v.6) or obey God's voice and laws (vv. 10-11).
Thus he recognized a direct correlation between Israel's transgressions and the judgments in the Law of Moses (vv. 11-12; cf. Dt. 28:15-68). These judgments were poured out on Israel, resulting in Jerusalem's destruction and the people's captivity (vv. 12-14).
Third, Daniel requested that God turn His anger, fury, and wrath away from Jerusalem. In other words, he asked God to end Israel's punishment, free the people from captivity, restore Jerusalem and the Temple, hear and have mercy on the people and city (v. 18), and forgive the nation's sins for His name's sake (vv. 17-19). Daniel's urgently requested that God “not delay” (v. 19) but answered his prayer swiftly.
God responded quickly and dramatically by sending the angel Gabriel while Daniel was still praying (vv.20-21). Gabriel was dispatched at the inception of Daniel's prayer to provide the beloved prophet with understanding about Israel's future (vv. 22-23).
Soon after, Cyrus, ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire, decreed that the Jewish people could return to rebuild Jerusalem and their Temple (2 Chr. 36:22-23). Gabriel clearly indicated a divine connection between Jeremiah’s prophecy, Daniel’s prayer, Cyrus’s decree, and God’s future plans for Israel (Dan. 9:23-25). While Daniel was praying, Gabriel again appeared to the prophet and informed him of God’s future program for Israel (vv. 24-27) until the time of the end (12:9).(1)
Recognizing that Israel's restoration depended on her national repentance, Daniel interceded for his nation through a penitent prayer that entreated the Lord to restore Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (Dan. 9:3-19). Daniel apparently expected immediate and full restoration at the conclusion of the captivity. However, he learned differently. The angel Gabriel arrived and revealed that complete fulfillment of the restoration program would be yet future and progressive. Gabriel revealed this by describing specific divisions of time, each involving specific events designed to prepare Israel for the final fulfillment of God's restoration program.(2)
Daniel's prayer for an end to exile can only be fulfilled when all the elements of his petition will be realized, and this can only be accomplished in the coming age of Messiah's reign.(2)
The curse mentioned in Dan. 9:11 refers to the judgment that God brought, as promised, for Israel's disobedience in the land (Lev. 26:21-42; Dt. 28:15-69). This is in contrast to the blessings associated with faith and obedience (Lev. 26:3-20; Dt. 28:1-14). God had given the promise that even in a time of judgment; if Israel would confess their sin, He would bless again (Lev. 26:40-42).(3)
1). Israel My Glory July/Aug 2009 (Friends of Israel Ministries)
2). Randall Price writing for Israel My Glory (Friends of Israel). Feb/March 2000 p.19-21.
3). John MacArthur's Study Bible Commentary on Dan 9:11 p12:17.
