Daniel 9:6, commentary and pictures

The verse is a confession that Israel had refused to listen to God's servants the prophets, who had spoken in His name to kings and princes and fathers and rulers and to all the people of the land, and that refusal belonged to its sin and rebellion and departure from His precepts and laws. Though greatly beloved, Daniel humbled himself and joined himself to his people, acknowledging his own sin with theirs without excuse or claim of holiness, and confessing that God's dealings were just. He set his face to seek God with fasting and sackcloth and ashes and tears and affliction of soul, wrestling in earnest intercession not for Israel's righteousness but for God's great mercies, for pardon and the restoration of Jerusalem and the honor of His name. His prayer was not in vain, for heaven answered before it was finished by sending Gabriel to give skill and understanding, with mercy and another probation for Jerusalem in the seventy weeks determined to finish transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness, which foretold the time of the Messiah's first advent and death. The prayer in Daniel 9:3-19 is the full and earnest model God's people now need to make their own, confessing sin with humility of heart and contrition in view of the cross, continuing until the Lord manifests Himself with power and the working of the Holy Spirit.

Confession and Historical Setting

The confession admits that Israel did not listen to God's servants the prophets, who spoke in His name to every level of the nation, to its kings, princes, fathers and ancestors, rulers, and to all the people of the land. That refusal to heed was part of its sin, iniquity, wickedness, rebellion, departure from God's precepts and judgments, and disobedience to His laws. Though greatly beloved of God, Daniel humbled himself, joined himself with his people, and included himself with them in admitting this disobedience. He acknowledged his own sin and the sin of his people rather than claiming holiness or perfection, made no excuse for them, and acknowledged that God's dealings with the nation were just.

The prayer was offered in the first year of Darius after the fall of Babylon. It came as Daniel searched Jeremiah's word that seventy years would be accomplished in the desolation of Jerusalem and as the seventy years of captivity approached their end. It followed the vision of the evening and the morning that left him faint, sick, and astonished with none understanding it. He set his face to seek God by prayer and supplications with fasting, affliction of soul, earnest pleading, tears, sackcloth, and ashes. That seeking expressed contrition of soul and deep sorrow as he witnessed the desolation of Jerusalem, unloading a burdened mind and helpless soul.

It was earnest intercession laying hold of infinite power for pardon, restoration of Jerusalem, and the honor of God's name and city called by His name. It was offered not for Israel's righteousness but for God's great mercies. In it he came before God as a sinner and pleaded for the people he loved, wrestling with God in faith on behalf of himself and Israel. The prayer was not in vain, for heaven answered before it was finished by sending Gabriel and ministering angels to give skill, understanding, and communication from God in vision. That answer brought mercy, the building of a second temple, and another probation for Jerusalem with seventy weeks determined to finish transgression, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness.

Prophetic Time and Fulfillment

The verse stands within the prophecy of the seventy weeks, which foretold the time of the Messiah's first advent and death. That prophecy fixes the time for the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks. On it rests the proclamation that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. The disciples preached that fulfillment from it, giving the right message at the right time, yet blinded by popular errors about the kingdom they did not perceive that the same scripture foretold the Messiah's death. Thus they fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message He desired, yet through their own misapprehension suffered disappointment. Daniel 9 holds the key to finding the commencement of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, and Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 have an unmistakable connection.

Model Prayer for Today

Daniel 9 is held up as a full, earnest, and complete model for seeking the Lord with humility of heart and contrition, confessing sin and praying earnestly, and Daniel's example instructs and encourages examination of experience. Humbling the self before God produces contrition rather than self-esteem, for a clear knowledge of God does not breed self-exaltation. Even one greatly beloved and faithful should approach God with humility and contrition, coming as a sinner, confessing wrongs, joining with his people in admitting sin, rebellion, departure from precepts and judgments, and failure to listen to the prophets who spoke in God's name to kings, princes, fathers, and all the people of the land, and seeking help to pray with fervor. Such seeking is by prayer and supplication with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes, unloading a burdened mind and helpless soul upon Christ the Burden-bearer, pleading for the people loved. That intense, earnest prayer draws the one praying nearer to God and brings assurance that God hears and will answer with mercy, pardon, and peace, even when the petition is simple and broken.

His humble, sincere, contrite prayer from unfeigned lips with the whole heart was heard, for God is ready to hear the contrite, answer those who ask in faith, and help those who come to Him. The same God will hear prayer now if approached as Daniel approached Him, in trust, with the soul in communion with God, praying without ceasing and not neglecting prayer. The prayer in Daniel 9:3-19 is the prayer God's people now need to offer and make their own, assembling together, confessing sins, repenting before God, and continuing in prayer until the Lord manifests Himself with power. Prayed in view of the cross and what redemption cost, it expresses humbling of self that He may lift us up, with a true sense of human value as measured by the price paid for redemption. Its aim is seeking the working of the Holy Spirit, so that every capability and talent entrusted as God's most precious endowment is valued and used to His name's glory as a treasure of influence, that those purchased at infinite cost with every advantage in the strife for immortality and eternal life may reach perfection and completeness in Christ.

Applied to those who claim to believe the truth but do not practise it, and specifically to Seventh-day Adventists, the confession covers self-confidence and presumption, failure to heed the light the Lord has been sending and the Testimonies of His Spirit, departure from His expressed commands and working contrary to the messages long given about the different features of the work, selfish gathering of facilities to a few favored places, and neglect of other parts of the field including the needs of the people in the large cities and in the Southern field. Those who pray as Daniel prayed, praying and confessing sins and finding pardon, live wholly for God's glory, are faithful and true, are not asleep but keenly alive to exposure to the enemy's malignant devices, see their only safety is in keeping the commandments of God, are guarded by heavenly intelligences in the day-by-day conflict between good and evil, and are made ready to stand in their lot and place for the Lord's coming. Thorough praying and thorough work for eternity are needed, with the written Word as the only safety against fanciful speculations and the truth of the ministration of angels pressed home. Humility before God is to be joined with keeping a clear line of separation between His commandment-keeping people and those who have no respect for His law and giving God the glory due His name.

The prayer shows what it means to humble the heart before God by confessing sins, and it is the pattern for one reproved for walking in false paths, not doing the Lord's will, and departing from the faith, calling him to read Daniel's prayer, learn true humbling, make a change, and follow it. The confession was made when he set his face to seek God by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes, following the vision of the evening and the morning that left him faint, sick, and astonished with none understanding it. It opens what is seen in the judgments witnessed at San Francisco as a standing warning.