Daniel 9:1-19 – Daniel’s Prayer of Confession
Reading the scroll of Jeremiah during the first year of the new Persian regime in Babylon, Daniel anticipates that the 70 years of Israel’s Babylonian exile are over. He prays that God will release Israel from exile and send them back home. He offers a corporate confession of sin–Daniel himself confesses the sins of Israel on behalf of Israel. He then appeals to God’s grace and mercy–and for the sake of God’s own name–to forgive their sin and liberate them from their enslavement. God’s response comes in Daniel 9:20-27, which is the text for the next lesson in the series.
Introduction to the Prayer (9:1-4a)
- The first year of Darius (who may be the same person as Cyrus the Great) is 539-538 BCE, which is the year Persia conquered Babylon (defeated by the “kings of the Medes,” according to Jeremiah 51:28).
- Daniel’s prayer responds to his reading of Jeremiah 25:11-14 and 29:10 (“in the books” or “the scrolls”), and God responds to the prayer in 9:20-27.
Jeremiah 25:11-14 – “This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
- Daniel is focused on the “seventy years” of Jerusalem’s “devastation” in relation to the prophecy of Jeremiah. Seventy years probably represents a typical human life span (cf. Psalm 90:10). The first deportation to Babylon was in 605 BCE, the second was in 597 BCE, and Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BCE. Daniel’s prayer assumes the seventy years is nearly complete, which means he probably dated it from 605 BCE. The fall of Babylon and the decree of Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE seem to mark the end of the “70” years. If so, seventy is a round or symbolic number.
- Some date the exile from 609-539–from the year Nebuchadnezzar exerted control over Judah to the defeat of the Babylonian empire.
- Some date it from 605-539–from the deportation that included Daniel to the decree of Cyrus in 539.
- Some date it from 605-536–from the deportation that included Daniel to the relocation of a group in Jerusalem.
- Some date it from 586-516–from the destruction of Jerusalem to when Judah finished rebuilding the temple (as per Zechariah 1:12-16).
2 Chronicles 36:22-23 – “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom and also declared in a written edict: ‘Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him! Let him go up.’”
Isaiah 45:1 – “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him—and the gates shall not be closed.”
Isaiah 45:13 – “I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his paths straight; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward, says the LORD of hosts.”
- Why 70 years?
Leviticus 26:33-34, “And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword against you; your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbath years as long as it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbath years.”
2 Chronicles 36:20-21 – “He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had made up for its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”
- Daniel approaches Yahweh (“Lord”) in prayer (9:4) for the end of the exile (the completion of the seventy years): turning to the Lord (literally, “turned his face”), seeking an answer that pleas for mercy (cf. Jeremiah 29:13), fasting with repentance and mourning (like in Esther 4:1-4), and confessing (sin and/or praising God).
Jeremiah 29:10-14 – “For thus says the LORD: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
The Prayer (9:4b-19)
- Daniel’s Confession (9:4b-6)
- Confesses who God is (9:4b) as one who keeps covenant and steadfast love.
- Confesses the sins of Israel (9:5-6) who did not listen to the prophets (Jeremiah 25:4; 29:19). Daniel offers a corporate confession of Israel’s sins, even for those he himself was not personally involved.
- Consequences for Judah (9:7-10)
- There is a stark contrast between “you” and “us” in 9:7-8.
- Shame belongs to Israel because of their disobedience, but mercy and forgiveness belong to God (9:9-10).
- The Calamity Rehearsed (9:11-14)
- Due to their transgression, Israel has fallen under the curse announced in the “law of Moses” (Leviticus 26:27-45; Deuteronomy 28:15-68). God is faithful to his words and brought calamity upon “all Israel” (9:11), especially Jerusalem (9:12).
- God’s just judgment was a process as God patiently waited for Israel to repent.
- Petition for Redemption (9:15-19).
- Daniel invokes the name of Yahweh six times (“Lord”) and refers to Yahweh as “our God” and “my God.”Daniel recalls the Exodus and the past demonstration of God’s mercy. The appeal for mercy comes with a renewal of the confession of sin (9:15-16). The petition appeals to God’s own character (“for your own sake”) as the ground of mercy for Israel, especially for the renewal of the temple in the city of Jerusalem.
- It is the name of God that bears the mercy of God and provides the security for a divine response in forgiveness.