Daniel 9:23, commentary and pictures

At the beginning of his supplications the decree went forth and his prayer was heard and answered while he was still praying. Gabriel was sent from heaven to give him skill and understanding and to bid him understand the matter and consider the vision, opening the mysteries of future ages to the coming of the Redeemer. The part to be explained was its time, for the seventy weeks are cut off from the 2,300 days and begin together with them, and the decree from which they are reckoned went forth in 457 B.C. as the command to restore and build Jerusalem. He is called greatly beloved to show God's special love and honor to the faithful, yet he received it in humility as a sinner confessing his and his people's sins, with earnest fasting and humbling of self under the moving of the Holy Spirit. God is ready to hear the contrite soul who seeks with the whole heart in faith and obedience, and earnest prayer draws near to Him and will be answered as Daniel's was.

Prayer Heard and Answered

At the beginning of Daniel's supplications the commandment came forth, and his prayer was heard and answered while he was still praying, before he had finished pleading. His earnest prayer with fasting and confession and humiliation was not in vain, for a ministering angel was sent to give him God's communication in vision. Gabriel was commissioned to come while Daniel prayed because his petitions had been heard, to give him skill and understanding and bring him into communion with heaven's messenger as he earnestly sought to know the truth. The answer gave him assurance that his prayer would be answered, and it connected his plea for the restoration of the exiles with an explanation outlining the seventy weeks beginning with the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

Gabriel came from heaven in direct communication to show Daniel the matter and bid him understand it and consider the vision. He came to give skill and understanding, light and wisdom, opening the mysteries of future ages with the light and truth Daniel and his people needed. That view of future events reached to the coming of the Redeemer, and Gabriel directed Daniel back to the earlier vision to give him understanding of it. Daniel could not endure the sight of the angel, so the angel strengthened him and revealed himself in human form.

Daniel's supplication was earnest, fervent and sincere, offered with fasting and confession of Israel's sins and humiliation and humbling of self. It was offered from a heart softened and subdued by the love of God, cleansed from selfishness and overflowing with love for God. It was offered under the moving of the Holy Spirit, with prayer of confession made with fasting and supplication. His reception of the heavenly communication was with humility rather than self-exaltation.

God is ready to hear the contrite soul, and is willing to help those who come to Him. In response to earnest intercession He sends a command bringing help and deliverance to those who seek His grace in their time of need, and makes known to them things shortly to take place. Earnest and intense prayer draws the one praying nearer and still nearer to God, and even simple petitions uttered in broken sentences from a burdened heart are received. Prayer itself is prompted by the Holy Spirit. Those who seek Him with all their hearts, who come as they are and ask in faith for wisdom, who learn daily in the school of Christ and pray in the Spirit loving God with heart and soul and mind and strength and their neighbor as themselves, with repentance and obedience and earnest intercession for the working of the Holy Spirit, will have their prayers heard and answered even as Daniel's were, and the word they proclaim will go with power, and clothed with His salvation they will arise and shine.

Vision Explained in Time

Gabriel returned to fulfill God's command to explain the vision, having come to give Daniel understanding and urging him to understand the matter and consider the vision. He came in answer to Daniel's prayer to explain the vision seen before and left unexplained in chapter 8. The point still unexplained was its time period, so his explanation centered on time, beginning with the seventy weeks.

That time period was the 2,300 days, and the seventy weeks are cut off from that longer period and begin at the same time. Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 are thus connected by this unexplained time, and chapter 9 provides the key for finding when the 2,300-year period begins. The commandment from which the prophetic periods of Daniel 8 and 9 are reckoned came forth in 457 B.C., and historical and chronological facts fix that year as the proper starting point for calculating those periods, which reach to the time of the crucifixion. The answer joined Daniel's plea for the restoration of the exiles to this outline of the seventy weeks, identifying their beginning with the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

The prophecy of the seventy weeks grounded the disciples' preaching that the appointed time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand. The same prophecy foretold the death of the Messiah and pointed to the end of the seventy weeks as the time for the kingdom to be set up. The disciples gave the right time message at the right time in fulfillment of God's will, but through adherence to popular error they mistook the nature of the kingdom and did not recognize the foretold death, and through that misapprehension suffered disappointment.

Greatly Beloved and Exemplary

The declaration that Daniel was greatly beloved is repeated, showing special divine love and heavenly honor resting upon him. At the beginning of his supplications while he was still praying and confessing the sins of Israel, command came forth and Gabriel was sent from heaven in direct communication to give skill and understanding, to open the matter and bid him consider the vision. Because his faithfulness was remembered, the faithful will likewise be acknowledged as God's children, and faithfulness is joined to being recognized as His beloved child. His prayer stands as an example to follow in asking for the Holy Spirit to work on one's behalf. The coming of the heavenly messenger to the fallen world shows heaven and earth closely linked, and Daniel met that communion with humility rather than self-exaltation. When he could not endure the sight, the angel strengthened him and appeared in human form.

Though assured that he was greatly beloved and brought into communion with heaven's messenger, Daniel did not become proud or self-exalted. His prayer revealed a soul longing for God and for wisdom. He approached God as a sinner, confessing that he and his people had sinned, proving that to be greatly beloved did not mean to be without sin. His earnest prayer and humility left him without strength and stripped away self-esteem.

He was greatly beloved because he was contrite in spirit, faithful and true. The fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom with him, and for that he was beloved and honored of heaven. A clear knowledge of God humbles rather than lifting up in pride. His humbling of his heart before God in confession of sin shows what it means to humble oneself before God.

He was only about sixteen years old when brought to Babylon, not by his own choice, to serve in heathen courts exposed to profligacy, dissipation, selfish indulgence, gratification of appetite, intemperance, gluttony and spendthrift habits. There he set his heart to serve the Lord and purposed, whatever the consequences, not to be corrupted or defiled with the king's meat and wine, resisting the downward influence around him. He gave himself with all his God-given energies to work out his Creator's plan, cooperating with God in character-building to restore the moral image of God and standing as a loyal subject under Christ's banner as a loyal subject of the heavenly King. His example as one greatly beloved is set before others to show they can be like him in character. The same favor belongs to students who stand firm in integrity, refuse association with those who walk in paths of sin, discard unprofitable amusements and indulgence of appetite, keep their minds clear for knowledge, gain moral power to stand unmoved when assailed by temptation, obtain victory after victory over self and the powers of darkness, and reflect honor to God by firm adherence to the right. One reproved for walking in false paths should follow him by humbling the heart, confessing sins, making a change, and asking for the Holy Spirit to work on his behalf, that God may speak peace to him.