Daniel 9:2, commentary and pictures

In the first year of Darius the Mede's reign over the Chaldeans after Babylon fell, Daniel searched the books, especially Jeremiah's recorded prophecies, and clearly understood the fixed appointed number of seventy years for Jerusalem's desolation and Israel's captivity as declared by the Lord. Those years were counted from the first deportation of Hebrews from Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, in which Daniel himself had been taken, and were completed when Cyrus succeeded Darius and began to reign. He also knew Isaiah's prophecies of restoration through Cyrus, and recognized that with the seventy years nearing their end the appointed time was at hand for God to close the captivity and give Israel another opportunity. His understanding filled him with sorrow and contrition and moved him to set his face to seek the Lord God with prayer and supplications, fasting, sackcloth and ashes, pleading in confession and tears for his people, for Jerusalem's restoration, and for the honor of God's name. His seeking was not for naught, for his prayer was heard and ministering angels came to him with communication from God in vision, though he supposed the 2,300-day vision ended with the seventy years of servitude and could not understand how the seventy years related to the 2,300 days before the sanctuary would be cleansed.

Setting and Understanding

In the first year of Darius the Mede's reign over the Chaldeans, after Babylon had fallen, Daniel studied the books. The seventy years were completed when Cyrus succeeded Darius and began to reign, counting from the deportation of the first group of Hebrews from Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

By studying the books, especially Jeremiah's written and recorded prophecies, Daniel clearly understood the fixed, appointed number of seventy years for Jerusalem's desolation and Israel's captivity. It was the period the Lord had declared through Jeremiah, and as the first year of Darius wore on Daniel learned that its end was nearing.

Daniel himself had been taken to Babylon in the first group of captives, and Jeremiah had foretold the duration of the captivity soon afterward. That long captivity was punishment for the people's failure to heed God's word, coming while Israel was being humbled by idolatrous nations for disobedience. Claims that the exiles would return quickly contradicted that prophecy.

Daniel also knew Isaiah's prophecies about restoration through Cyrus. As the seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation were nearing their end, he recognized from Jeremiah's prophecies that the appointed time was at hand. That meant God would bring the captivity to its close and give Israel another opportunity.

Though himself a great prophet well acquainted with God's visions, Daniel was a diligent searcher of the Scriptures who thought it wise to consult Jeremiah's record of God's promise to visit His people after seventy years and perform His good word toward them. His searching and understanding show that those who go to Scripture can likewise understand what God would have them know.

Prayer and Answer

Daniel's understanding from studying the books filled him with sorrow and humiliation as Israel was being humbled by idolatrous nations for disobedience and he witnessed the desolation of Jerusalem. That contrition of soul over the appointed seventy years for Jerusalem's desolation and destruction moved him to set his face to seek the Lord God with prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Though himself a great prophet well acquainted with God's visions, he was a diligent searcher of the Scriptures who kept close communion with the King of kings and kept to his duty of prayer. Recognizing from Jeremiah's prophecies that the appointed time was at hand for God to bring the captivity to its close and give Israel another opportunity, he fasted, humbled himself, and prayed for his people.

His prayer was the earnest, simple plea of a longtime servant of God who came before Him as a sinner and pleaded for the people he loved. Fasting and afflicting his soul, he prayed most earnestly in tears with confession and humiliation. He confessed sin and pleaded earnestly for the restoration of Jerusalem and the honor of God's name. His seeking was not for naught, for his prayer was heard, and ministering angels came to him to give him in vision the communication from God.

Prophetic Connections and Fulfillment

In the first year of Darius, Daniel learned from Jeremiah that the seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation and Israel's captivity were nearing their end, and he understood that period in connection with the 2300-day vision, supposing that the vision's time would end with the seventy years of servitude. Though Jeremiah's promise of seventy years was clear to him, he could not understand how those seventy years related to the 2,300 days before the sanctuary would be cleansed. His writings include revelations about events far in the future that were not fully understood by himself, and some were sealed until the time of the end. The verse stands connected with the prophetic periods of Daniel 8 and 9 whose reckoning begins in the year 457 B.C., a date fixed by historical and chronological facts.

Daniel 9 foretells the time of Christ's first coming in its seventy-weeks prophecy, which also foretells the death of the Messiah and points to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks. That prophecy is the basis for the first disciples' proclamation that the appointed time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand. Those who proclaimed the fulfilled time gave the right message at the right time and fulfilled God's will in delivering it. Yet by holding to popular errors they did not recognize the Messiah's death foretold in the same prophecy and were mistaken about the kingdom, and through that misapprehension suffered disappointment.

Daniel's faith in the prophecies led him to pray for his people, and Cyrus was moved to release them and provide for the rebuilding of Jerusalem's temple. The completion of the years of Jerusalem's desolation foretold through Jeremiah is declared as the desolations of Zion accomplished. God's people are rising never to fall again. Taking away the first and establishing the second means those who were in the faith and become rebellious are purged out, and others who had not heard the Adventist doctrine and rejected it embrace the truth and take their places, bearing fruit and working to the glory of God.