ASSASSIN
04-26-2008, 03:42 PM
I apologize for being unavoidably detained this past couple of weeks. Hopefully the lesson will be back on a more normal schedule in the future with our Sunday School Lessons....
PRAYING FOR THE PEOPLE -
Daniel 9:1-7, 17-19
BACKGROUND:
It is now approaching 70 years since the children of the Southern Kingdom have been in captivity in Babylon . The year is 538 B.C. They were deported in about 606 B.C. It is time to go home. The Prophet Jeremiah had predicted prior to the captivity that the sojourn in Babylon would be 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11, 12). But just why is this coming upon God’s people? God told Moses on Mt Sinai that one of the requirements of the people after they arrived in the Promised Land was that they set aside each seventh year as a sabbatical year (Leviticus 25:1-7). They arrived in Canaan , began enjoying prosperity, and forgot what God had commanded (we do that today). They also forgot a promise that God had made following His directives to Moses (Leviticus 26:14, 15, 32-29). It is clear that the Jews ignored all this until their “bill” to God was 70 years...
More than one generation was raised up in Babylon . The people had become comfortable. They had probably forgotten that 70 years had now passed and it was time to “pack up” and head home to Jerusalem . But Daniel was not unaware of the time, and as a result prayed a special prayer to God on this occasion…
CAUSE FOR CONCERN (Daniel 9:1-3)
Unforgiven sin can cause havoc in anyone’s life. Too often we feel that if we permit a sin to get “old”, it somehow goes away. That is not the case. In fact, I believe that the sin of Adam and Eve continues through the generations today because no one ever asked God to forgive that sin...
But Daniel would not let this happen here. He knew that it was sin that caused them to be in Babylon in the first place. He also realized that the people had become so comfortable in a strange land that they had not bothered to ask God’s forgiveness. Yes, they had “paid the price” by being in a foreign land against their will for 70 years, but the sin itself remained unforgiven. The relationship between them and God remained severed...
So Daniel prayed. But first, Daniel assumed the right posture to pray. He fasted in sackcloth and ashes. That was in Daniel’s time preparation for a prayer of one who is woefully guilty but who still wanted to ask God for mercy. He then turned his face toward God (probably in the direction of Jerusalem ) and humbled himself...
CONFESSION OF SIN (Daniel 9:4-7)
Before asking God for favors, it is necessary for one to confess his sins. This applies to everyone, since we all have sinned. Daniel began by making a personal confession. This is followed by a confession on behalf of his people. He thereby establishes himself and the people as unworthy sinners...
Next Daniel acknowledges God as a righteous God who is able to respond to the prayer in question. Then and only then is Daniel prepared to make a petition…
PETITION FOR HELP (Daniel 9:17-19)
Strangely enough, Daniel’s first petition is not for direct aid to the people. Despite the fact they are in a foreign land, Daniel begins by petitioning God to prepare the sanctuary. The Jerusalem Temple lay in ruins, and the Presence of God had presumably left. What good would it be for the people to go back home and not find a place of worship? No, their homes had been destroyed as well, but the first priority was the Temple. It was necessary to be aware of the Divine Presence...
Another noteworthy aspect of Daniel’s prayer is that he is not calling on God on the assumption that the Jews are somehow more righteous than their heathen counterparts; rather, he calls on God asking for mercy...
Finally, Daniel asks for forgiveness. It is where he was going in the first 18 verses of this chapter. Forgiveness. But it is attainable only through the right prayer, and the right approach....
A
PRAYING FOR THE PEOPLE -
Daniel 9:1-7, 17-19
BACKGROUND:
It is now approaching 70 years since the children of the Southern Kingdom have been in captivity in Babylon . The year is 538 B.C. They were deported in about 606 B.C. It is time to go home. The Prophet Jeremiah had predicted prior to the captivity that the sojourn in Babylon would be 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11, 12). But just why is this coming upon God’s people? God told Moses on Mt Sinai that one of the requirements of the people after they arrived in the Promised Land was that they set aside each seventh year as a sabbatical year (Leviticus 25:1-7). They arrived in Canaan , began enjoying prosperity, and forgot what God had commanded (we do that today). They also forgot a promise that God had made following His directives to Moses (Leviticus 26:14, 15, 32-29). It is clear that the Jews ignored all this until their “bill” to God was 70 years...
More than one generation was raised up in Babylon . The people had become comfortable. They had probably forgotten that 70 years had now passed and it was time to “pack up” and head home to Jerusalem . But Daniel was not unaware of the time, and as a result prayed a special prayer to God on this occasion…
CAUSE FOR CONCERN (Daniel 9:1-3)
Unforgiven sin can cause havoc in anyone’s life. Too often we feel that if we permit a sin to get “old”, it somehow goes away. That is not the case. In fact, I believe that the sin of Adam and Eve continues through the generations today because no one ever asked God to forgive that sin...
But Daniel would not let this happen here. He knew that it was sin that caused them to be in Babylon in the first place. He also realized that the people had become so comfortable in a strange land that they had not bothered to ask God’s forgiveness. Yes, they had “paid the price” by being in a foreign land against their will for 70 years, but the sin itself remained unforgiven. The relationship between them and God remained severed...
So Daniel prayed. But first, Daniel assumed the right posture to pray. He fasted in sackcloth and ashes. That was in Daniel’s time preparation for a prayer of one who is woefully guilty but who still wanted to ask God for mercy. He then turned his face toward God (probably in the direction of Jerusalem ) and humbled himself...
CONFESSION OF SIN (Daniel 9:4-7)
Before asking God for favors, it is necessary for one to confess his sins. This applies to everyone, since we all have sinned. Daniel began by making a personal confession. This is followed by a confession on behalf of his people. He thereby establishes himself and the people as unworthy sinners...
Next Daniel acknowledges God as a righteous God who is able to respond to the prayer in question. Then and only then is Daniel prepared to make a petition…
PETITION FOR HELP (Daniel 9:17-19)
Strangely enough, Daniel’s first petition is not for direct aid to the people. Despite the fact they are in a foreign land, Daniel begins by petitioning God to prepare the sanctuary. The Jerusalem Temple lay in ruins, and the Presence of God had presumably left. What good would it be for the people to go back home and not find a place of worship? No, their homes had been destroyed as well, but the first priority was the Temple. It was necessary to be aware of the Divine Presence...
Another noteworthy aspect of Daniel’s prayer is that he is not calling on God on the assumption that the Jews are somehow more righteous than their heathen counterparts; rather, he calls on God asking for mercy...
Finally, Daniel asks for forgiveness. It is where he was going in the first 18 verses of this chapter. Forgiveness. But it is attainable only through the right prayer, and the right approach....
A