Daniel 9:16-21

Daniel 9:16

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.

 

Daniel now changes his prayer from confession to supplication.  He now petitions the Lord according to all His righteousness.  Daniel realizes and has prayed that it was the righteousness of God which judged the people and removed them from the land.  Daniel now asks God for the other side of His full righteousness that His anger would be turned away from Jerusalem and that a time of restoration would come to Jerusalem.  Daniel is not excusing the sins of Israel and still confesses that instead of the covenant people being a blessing to the surrounding nations, they have become a reproach.  The word “reproach” in the Hebrew carries with it the meaning of “shame or disgrace” because of their actions.  This part of Daniel’s prayer would soon be answered in a few more years as the 70 years would be coming to an end.

 

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.

 

Daniel now asks the Lord to hear his prayer.  The word in the Hebrew behind “hear” means “to hear attentively.”  Isaiah 59:2 (KJV)   But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.  Daniel knows that the sins and iniquities of Israel have caused a split in their relationship with God and now Daniel asks God to hear his prayer in spite of the sins and iniquities of Israel.  Daniel also petitions God to once again let His face shine upon the desolate sanctuary.  This would mean that Daniel would desire God to once again look with favor upon Jerusalem and the Temple which at this point is in ruins.  He asks this for the sake of the Lord which would show the surrounding nations how compassionate and merciful God is and not just a God of judgment.  Daniel desires that the nations know the full story.

 

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.

 

Daniel now beseechs God to incline His ear to his prayer and petition.  The word “incline” means to bend His ear toward Daniel and hear his supplication.  He also asks God to open His eyes in a symbolic way because God sees all the things which has happened.  He wants God to take special notice of all the desolations which has happened to His people and to take special notice of the city of Jerusalem which lay in ruins after three sieges and only a minimal amount of people who were left there by the Babylonians.  Daniel then states that it is not for his supplications that He is requesting God to restore Jerusalem and Judah but for His great mercies.  Daniel knew the Psalms and in Psalm 136, 26 times the Scriptures state that God’s mercy endureth forever and that is what Daniel is basing his petition on, the mercy of God.

 

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.

 

Daniel makes his prayer focus God’s name and reputation.  Daniel does not pray in a selfish way but asks the Lord to forgive the sins of Israel and restore her.  He asks the Lord not to defer.  The word “defer” in the Hebrew carries with it the meaning of “tarry or procrastinate.”  Daniel probably desired to see Jerusalem rebuilt once again before he dies.  Daniel desires all these things for the sake of the Lord and not for his own self and he asks for the people of God, not just about them but the fact that these people are called by the name of God.  Just like today, Christians are really called by the name of Christ.  When someone mentions the name “Christian” they are also including the name of Christ.  So when Christians do stupid things like fall over laughing or speaking in gibberish tongues, the world laughs at us and it also brings reproach upon the name of Christ.

 

Daniel 9:20

And 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;

 

Daniel now states that while he was praying and confessing.  It does not state that he was done with his prayer but the fact that he was still in prayer mode at this time.  He was still confessing the sins of his people along with his own sin and was making supplication unto God for the holy mountain of God.  The holy mountain of God could be referring to where the Temple stood upon the mount in Jerusalem.  Normally the mountain in Scripture would represent a kingdom.  Daniel might also be praying for the revealed kingdom of God up to that point which would be the nation of Israel and Jerusalem.

 

Daniel 9:21

Yea, 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.

 

While Daniel was continuing in prayer, the angel Gabriel had once again been dispatched to Daniel just as he had been in the beginning of the vision.  Gabriel had flew to Daniel at an accelerated pace to answer Daniel’s sincere prayer which is always answered by God.  Isaiah 65:24 (KJV) And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  Gabriel had come to Daniel at the time of the evening oblation.  The evening oblation was the evening sacrifice that would have been made about the ninth hour of the day which would be at 3 PM.  Gabriel came to Daniel and actually laid hands on him.  This is something that angels have done throughout the Scriptures.  1 Kings 19:5 (KJV)   And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  Elijah was touched by an angel and given him something to eat as he ran from  Jezebel.

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