Shalom dear brothers and sisters. God bless you. We are blessed to be able to read the Word of God together and we are going to continue in this ministry meeting to study together the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is one of the most beautiful books which was written for our benefit, especially concerning the plan and the program that God has for Israel and for the people of this world. It is fascinating to see that the many, many details that we receive by the Spirit of God who used Daniel to put in the canon of Scripture the Word of the Lord. We read in the Scriptures that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

And so, we arrive to Daniel chapter 9 and I would like you please to turn to Daniel chapter 9. And there in this 9th chapter, in the first 19 verses, we read of Daniel's prayer for Israel's restoration. Daniel is anticipating the promise of God to restore the Jewish people back to the promised land to restore the people of Israel back to the land of Israel. And so, let me read these 19 verses, beloved brothers and sisters, and let us please see what the Lord is teaching us here in these 19 verses. And so, we read in verse 1. In the first year of Darius, the son of Achashverosh, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Kaladins.

In the first year of Israel, I, Daniel understood by books, the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. And I sent my faith unto the Lord to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgment.

He continued in verse 6. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel that are near and that are far off, through all the countries with them, through all the countries with them, thou hast driven them because of their trespasses, that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belong confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

O Lord, to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice. Therefore, the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven has not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

As it is written, in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore, therefore, hath the Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works, which he doeth, for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hath brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hath gotten the renown as it is this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city, Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplication, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear and hear, open thine eyes and behold our desolation, and the city which is called by thy name, for we do not present our supplication before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercy.

O Lord, heal. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hearken and do. Defer not for thine own sake, O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. Well, beloved brothers and sisters, we have read together the first 19 verses of the book of Daniel, the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. This is a very important chapter because in this ninth chapter, we not only hear the prayer of Daniel on behalf of his own people, the Jewish people, the people of Israel, but also we see in this ninth chapter that God, through his servants, the angel, give Daniel the prophetic word of the 77th of years, the 490 years in which through these years, God will ultimately restore the Jewish people, not only to the land, but restore them ultimately in the future day when Israel will be restored and ultimately he will bring Israel back to himself and establish because of the Messiah that will come, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah who will come at his second coming, that ultimately God will bring about the promised messianic kingdom, a blessing will flow to this world in which we live in.

But we live today in this present day of the church age to remind you that when Daniel was carried away to Babylon and the Jewish people lost the privilege of being in the city of Yerushalayim and enjoying the worship at the temple at Beit HaMikdash in the city of Jerusalem, at that time was 605 B.C. In other words, Daniel was carried first, 605 B.C. Then the Ezekiel with other thousands were carried away to Babylon at 597 B.C. And the third time when Ebuchadnezzar came with his military was 586 B.C. And the temple was destroyed and the walls of Jerusalem were burned and destroyed and the Jewish people were now away from the land of their forefathers.

Though some remained there, the poor and the needy remained there. But beloved brothers and sisters, when we arrive here to Daniel chapter 9, we arrive to the year of 539 B.C. That takes us for some years since Daniel was carried away to Babylon. Him and his Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael and other Jewish people were carried to Babylon at the first time. Some from 605 to 539 B.C. They remain not too many years, about 67 years have passed by. And soon Daniel is anticipating the restoration of his own people back to the promised land. Why? Because God have declared that the Jewish people, the people of Israel, will be taken captive by the Babylonians and they will be away from the land of their fathers for 70 years and then they will be restored to the land of Israel.

And so, notice that, beloved brothers and sisters, in the first two verses of Daniel chapter 9, we see that it was in the first year of Darius, the king of the Medes. Listen to verse 1. He was made, notice, he was made king over the realm of the Caledin. He was made, in other words, King Cyrus, the Persian, made Darius a king over the province of Babylon. To remind you that it is important to understand, Daniel is not written in a chronological order. The first four chapters would follow one after the other. And then chapter 7. And then chapter 8, which we have already covered. In fact, we also covered chapter 5, but the fifth chapter would be fitting right here between chapter 8 and chapter 9.

And what happened in the fifth chapter, we read of Belshazzar's feast and the ultimate conquest of Babylon by the Medo-Persian. If you remember, we have already read in Daniel chapter 5 and verse 30, that was 539 B.C. In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Caledin, slain. And then we read in the last verse of chapter 5, And Darius, the Medes, took or received the kingdom, being about 62 years of age. So Darius, the Medes, received the kingdom, the province of Babylon, to rule over the province of Babylon. When King Cyrus was really the king over the Medes and the Persian Empire. So by the time we have concluded with chapter 5, then we have the sixth chapter, is where Darius began to be the king over the province of Babylon under the Medo-Persian Empire.

So now when we arrive to our ninth chapter, it still takes us in a sense back because now we are in the first year of the rise. You notice here we arrive to a time in which the empire of Babylon ended and the Medo-Persian Empire had begun. 539 B.C. So that was the first year of Darius, the son of Achashverosh, of the seed of the Medes, which he was made king over the realms of the Caledines. Well, now we notice now in the second verse, we at the same time, 539 B.C., it says, in the first year, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem.

So at 539 B.C., when Darius' first year of becoming a king over the province of Babylon under the Medo-Persian Empire, Daniel at the same time received, notice that he received information from the Lord as he was reading the Hebrew Scriptures that there will be 70 years that are drawing nigh to their end since the time that he was carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon. And so he was reading, he understood by books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. Well, to remind you, since the time that Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel and his many of other Jewish people, including Hananiah, Azara, and Mishael, since that time, since six or five, now 67 years have passed by, and Daniel is a man of God who have held apparently with him some copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, whatever amount of Scripture that was already available, whatever scrolls of the Torah and of some of the prophets were available to him when they were carried away to Babel in the Galut, in the diaspora, in the dispersion, they took copies of the Hebrew Scriptures with them.

And Daniel, as a man of God, was on and on, going bases, pouring out his heart as he was reading the Torah, as he was reading some of the prophetic words that he found in the then written Word of God that was available for him and for other Jewish people to read. So notice, I, Daniel, understood by books that the number of the years whereof the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of the city of Jerusalem. Well, God promised that the Jewish people will be carried to Babylon for 70 years and he mentioned that through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel.

In Jeremiah chapter 25, we do read in verse, I'll read verse 8, Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hoth, because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord. And Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof and against all these nations round about and I will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and hissing and a perpetual desolation.

Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstone and the light of the candle and this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment and his nation shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years and it shall come to pass when 70 years are accomplished, God is saying through Jeremiah to the people of Israel when the 70 years are accomplished, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation says the Lord for their iniquity and the land of the Chaldeans and will make it a perpetual desolation and I will bring upon

that land all my words which I have pronounced against it even all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations for many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands then listen to this in verse 15 of Jeremiah chapter 25 for thus says the Lord God of Israel unto me take the wine cup of this fury at my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send it to drink it in other words God promised that he will judge the nations that came against Israel but verses 11 and

12 of Jeremiah chapter 25 God promised that when the 70 years will come to an end he will restore the people of Israel back to the land later on in the same book of Jeremiah in chapter 29 he continued to promise in verse 10 for thus says the Lord that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good words towards you in causing you to return to this place amazing the promise of God for I know the thought that I think towards you God said to Israel thoughts of peace shalom and not of evil to give you an expected end in other words God promised that though he will

judge his people the Jewish people he will restore them back to the land because he has thoughts of blessing for the nation of Israel and ultimately he is intending to bless the whole world through the people of Israel in the future day well Daniel now after 67 years away from the land Jerusalem is destroyed the walls are broken down the temple is burnt with fire the vessels from the temple in Jerusalem were taken by the Babylonian to the land of Shinar and here Daniel after so many years in 539 BC waiting and anticipating the time in which God will finally restore his people the people of Israel and so notice that what Daniel does here

in this 9th chapter in verses 3 all the way to verse 19 Daniel is now praying unto the Lord on behalf of his nation his people of Israel and I want you to notice beloved brothers and sisters that in this 9th chapter and only in the 9th chapter of the book of Daniel the word Lord or the name of God Jehovah Yahweh Jehovah is mentioned more than once in this 9th chapter and why it is mentioned here beloved brothers and sisters why because God is the covenant keeping God of Israel in Genesis and Exodus and later on after he chose Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and allowed the people of Israel to go to the

land of Egypt to become slaves in the land of Egypt God had promised to redeem his people Israel he made covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and now he is going to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt and to redeem them and he made a promise and you remember what Moses asked the Lord in Exodus chapter 3 Moses said unto God behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them the God of your fathers has sent me unto you they shall say to me what is his name what shall we say what shall I say unto them Moshe asked the Lord and notice what

God said to Moses to say to the people of Israel and God said unto Moses I am that I am and he said thus shall thou say unto the children of Israel I am has sent me unto you he doesn't stop here after he said I am that I am or more correctly I will be to you that which I will be in verse 15 he continues and he says and God said moreover unto Moses thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel Jehovah here is the word capital L capital O capital R capital D in the Hebrew it is simply Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God

of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me unto you this is my name forever and this is my memorial unto all generations in other words God is a God who made covenant who made promises and he promised that he will deliver the people of Israel and bring them unto himself and he will ultimately fulfill all the promises that he made to Abraham Yitzhak and Yaakov in Exodus 3 and verse 16 we read go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto them Jehovah Jehovah the Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob appeared unto me saying I have surely visited you and seen that which

is done unto you in Egypt and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto a land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites unto a land flowing with milk and honey beloved brothers and sisters this is the God of covenant the God of Israel Jehovah the one who would keep the covenant with his own people and so Daniel already nearly 70 years in Babel he realized that the 70 years are just about to end as he read in the prophet Jeremiah and he read according to verse 2 in by books apparently there were other books like Isaiah

and other books which he was reading the Torah in Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy and the books that were available for Daniel to read as a man of God he was reading in the word of the Lord that the promises of God would come to pass and Daniel take take this time to cry to the Lord and confess in prayer the sins of his people his own sins and the sins of his people and so beloved brothers and sisters for verses 3 to verse 19 Daniel prays to Jehovah on behalf of his people the people of Israel and so in verses 3 to 14 Daniel confess his sin and Israel sins and then in verse 15

to 19 Daniel beseech the Lord to hear his prayer and to forgive his people the people of Israel what a man this Daniel was what a tremendous lesson we learned that Daniel cared for the welfare of his people what a lesson all of us who are today believers in the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah we also have to have care both for the church the ecclesia the assembly but also for the people of Israel for the Jewish people that's why the apostle Paul who was the apostle to the Gentile world to the nations of the world when he was preaching the gospel and he was leading many to come to know the Lord Yeshua the

Messiah to become part of the assembly the ecclesia he he he never for moment forgot to pray for his people just like Daniel have done so in his day to remind us of what Paul said in Romans 9 verse 1 I say the truth in Messiah I lie not my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart for I could wish that myself were accursed from Mashiach from Christ from Messiah for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh amazing and then he continues and he says who are Israelis to whom pertaining the adoption and the glory and the covenant and the giving

of the law and the service of God and the promises whose are their fathers and of whom as according to the flesh the Messiah came who is overall God blessed forever amen so Shaul Paul had a burden for his people Israel and you can see that Daniel has a burden for the Jewish people as well Daniel in his days Shaul Paul in his days and Paul had a burden for the people of God for the church for the assembly he was constantly praying for the people of God what a lesson beloved brothers and sisters you and I can learn from the apostle Shaul Paul and from the prophet Daniel in Romans 10 and verse 1

Paul continued to say to the brethren in the city of Rome brethren my heart desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved he longed for the redemption and the restoration of Israel to God while he was preaching the message of the gospel to the Gentile world that many through his service came to know Yeshua the Messiah and became part of the ecclesia the assembly during these days of the church age well back to Daniel chapter 9 and verses 3 to 14 we hear and we read of Daniel's confession of his own and Israel's sins notice what we read in verse 3 Daniel set his face towards his God in prayer

and we read and I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes Daniel prepared his heart but he also outwardly what did he do he fasted he denied himself of necessary food because he was so burdened with the desire that God will restore Israel back to the city of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel he put upon himself sackcloth he put upon himself ashes and he began by prayer notice the word for prayer and supplication amazing this expression here in these words in Hebrew tachnunim he was really beseeching begging God on behalf of the Jewish people the people of Israel and so he

sought God by prayer and supplication but he outwardly have really identified with the burden in his heart by fasting avoiding eating food that is necessary for him to be sustained putting sackcloth and ashes and you notice what he continued to say now in verse 4 and I prayed unto the Lord again the word Lord here in verse 4 as it is in verse 2 is the capital L capital O capital R capital D which is none else but the word Jehovah Jehovah and it is speaking to the covenant keeping God of Israel and so Daniel here only here in chapter 9 addressing covenant keeping God of Israel dressing himself unto Jehovah and he called him

my God my God even though Daniel was now in Babylon and often time you read in these books of Daniel Hananiah Daniel Nehemiah and Ezra the God of heaven but that God of heaven is no other God but the God of Daniel the God of Israel so he said I prayed unto the Lord my God and notice what we read in verse 4 how Daniel addressed his Lord and notice what he is addressing him the way he addresses him and notice he said he said that I made confession and said in other confess he confessed the sins of the nation of Israel and his own sin of course even though we don't read in any

particular way Daniel's sins in the book of Daniel but obviously he was a sinner like all have sinned but but he identified with the sins of his own brethren of his own people so I made confession and I said notice all Lord the great and dreadful God keeping notice keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments notice how he is addressing God as the great and dreadful God he is addressing God as a God who is a God of mercy he is addressing God as a God who keeping covenant and he is addressing God as a God that is indeed is responding to them that love

him and keep his commandment now remember beloved brothers and sisters Israel did not keep God's commandment that's why they were in Babylon that's why they were carried away they were judged by God but Daniel addressed God as a God who is great dreadful keeping covenant yet merciful and responding to those that love him do you love the Lord you remember what we read beloved brothers and sisters in the new covenant obeying the covenant of the Lord and God's word remain the same God's people are called to obey the Lord and to submit to his authority and this is a principle that we all learn that in every dispensation in every period of time in human

history God demanded from people to obey his word how did sin came into the world because Adam disobeyed God's word when he was in the garden of delight in God and if you remember it was the very same request that the Lord Yeshua the Messiah requested from his disciples in John chapter 14 we do read beloved brothers and sisters in verse 15 if ye love me keep my commandment the Lord Yeshua said to his own disciples in verse 21 he that has my commandment then keep them he it is that love me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him in

other words proof that we love God is obedience to his word in verse 23 of John chapter 14 the Lord specifically expressed the important if a man love me he will keep my word earlier in verse 21 he said he that has my commandment and keep them he it is that love me so commandments are given to men in every generation by the living God and the response to the commandments of the Lord should come out of a heart that love the Lord that's why Daniel in verse 4 he said in his prayer when he addressed God as great and dreadful God keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them

that keep his commandments Israel was called to keep God's commandment in their generation the church the assembly is called to keep God's commandment in this generation even even though we don't live under the what is known to be under law but because we live during this present day of grace that does not mean that God's people are called to be lawless we are still to be obedient to God's word we don't need to offer sacrifices we don't need to be dressed in one way or another in a sense of certain specific clothes we don't have anymore to go to a certain temple and keep various rituals but we are still called to submit to the

word of the Lord and often time we fail in this and that's why we don't enjoy the fellowship that God desire us to enjoy with him and here we can see Daniel in his days when God disciplined our Jewish people Daniel after 67 years or so away from the land of Israel from the city of Jerusalem now repenting before God and addressing him as the Lord as Jehovah my God in verses five and six Daniel confess Israel sins and notice these five statements that we have in verses five and six we have sinned the Hebrew word is and have committed iniquity the Hebrew word is and have done wickedly the Hebrew word is and have

rebelled the Hebrew word is and then even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgment the Hebrew word is for departing is sarnu we chatanu avinu hershanu maradnu sarnu we have sinned we have committed iniquity we have done wickedly we have rebelled we have departed from your precepts and from thy judgment verse six neither have we hearkened unto thee and to thy servants the prophets which spake in thy name to our kings and to our princes and to our fathers and to all the people of the land so Daniel in verses five and six is confessing beloved brothers and sisters the sins of the nation of Israel the first one for the word sin

is simply we miss the mark chatanu the second word we committed iniquity the Hebrew word is avinu it speaks of crookedness and the third word is we have done wickedly is the word hirshanu that means we have been evil in the manner whereby we have dealt with the God who loved us and have chosen us and have blessed our nation of Israel Daniel is saying we have rebelled against him we have departed from him we did not listen to the voices of the servants the prophets and beloved brothers and sisters the prophets of Israel warn Israel again and again turn turn to God shuvu shuvu return return oh Israel that was the call of the

servants of God to the nation of Israel and their disobedience brought judgment disobedience brought judgment of God you remember what we read in Isaiah chapter 1 I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me the ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master scream but Israel does not know and my people does not consider our sinful nation a people laden with iniquity a seed of evildoers children that are corrupt they have forsaken Jehovah they they have provoked the holy one of Israel unto anger they are gone away backward see beloved friends beloved brothers and sisters this is exactly what God desire from his people to submit to his authority and

to turn to him and obey his word but Israel have done so in their generation and you and I might ask ourselves these days in this church age where do you and I fit into all this picture are we obeying the word of the Lord are we submissive to his counsel to his word often time because of our self will we turn away from the Lord and the Lord bring judgment upon his church the assembly the ecclesia sadly we read in Revelation chapter 3 concerning the church of the Laodiceans very very said unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write these things say is the amen the faithful and the true witness the

beginning of the creation of God I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot would thou were cold or hot so then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will spew you out of my mouth because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have needs of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked this is what the Lord Jesus the Messiah the glorified Messiah has to say specifically about the professing church in the last days of the church age sadly that's what we read here beloved brothers and sisters and so as we continue here in verses 7 and 8

then Daniel now admit before God that to Israel belong the shame the shame of faith and so what does Daniel do here in these next verses beloved brothers and sisters look listen to what we read in verses 7 and 8 of our ninth chapter all Lord righteousness belongs unto thee but unto us confusion of faces as at this day to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and unto all Israel that are near and that are far wrong through all the countries whither thou hast driven them because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee all Lord to us belong the confusion of faith to our kings to our princes and

to our fathers because we have sinned gains thee Daniel in verses 7 and 8 admit before God that to Israel belong the shame to Israel belong the shame that expression in verse 8 the confusion of faith it simply mean boshet hapanim you read it twice here in verses 7 and 8 in verse 7 oh lord righteousness belongs unto thee but unto us confusion of faces boshet hapanim then in verse 8 oh lord to us belong confusion of faith to our kings to our princes and to our fathers and why it is because we have sinned before thee and beloved brothers and sisters god is always righteous that's why daniel said in verse 7 lord you

are righteous righteousness belong unto thee but to us belong the shame of faith the confusion of faces and so once daniel continue on and confessing israel the whole nation sins identifying with his own brethren with his own people he now in verses 9 and 10 he confessed the need for mercy oh what will we do without the mercy and the grace of god to remember beloved brothers and sisters that god is so gracious god is a god of grace god is a god of forgiveness you remember what we read in ephesians chapter two by grace are ye saved by grace are you saved through faith and it is a gift of god god gifted us

in providing for us grace and and even working in our hearts to bring about the fact that we will believe on the lord yeshua the messiah of him we read that he is the one that came from heaven to provide this grace that we all needed because all have sinned and come short of the glory of god and we need grace upon grace every day of our life even after we became believers in the lord jesus the messiah oh beloved brothers and sisters the grace of god you remember what we read in john 1 verse 17 for the law was given by moses in other word god graciously in love gave the torah using his

servant moshe to give to his people israel the law the to that will guide them and and then now he continued and he said but grace and truth came by jesus christ yeshua hamashiah in other words the law was given to point to the messiah and the messiah came to provide this final grace to mankind by paying for the sin of this world and so beloved brothers and sisters Daniel is confessing for mercy and for grace and forgiveness for God in verses 9 and 10 and so we read in verse 9 and 10 of Daniel chapter 9 to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness though we have rebelled against him neither have we

obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws which he set before us by his servants the prophets and so Daniel looked back and he confessed before God that to him he is the merciful God he is the forgiving God but to us namely to Israel really we because we did not obey the voice of the Lord we did not walk in his law we did not listen to the servants and the prophets that he sent to the nation of Israel that is again what Daniel is confessing before the Lord and asking that he will provide mercy and forgiveness for the nation of Israel how wonderful it is for us today

to realize that we receive the grace that God provided for us in drawing us to himself opening our eyes and especially providing for us the redeemer our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4 and 5 but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins has quickened us together with the Messiah by grace are ye saved so beloved brothers and sisters Daniel continues on he set his face towards his Lord his God he expresses the need he addressed the Jehovah and he expressing that he is the great and mighty one the dreadful one he confessed the

sins of the nation of Israel he admits before the Lord that Israel belonged the shame fullness of faith he is confessing the need for mercy and forgiveness and then in verses 11 to 14 he confessed that we that Israel deserved judgment the judgment of God that came upon the people of Israel let me read you verse 11 to verse 14 yeah yeah all Israel have transgressed thy law even by departing that they might not obey thy voice therefore the curse is poured upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God because we have sinned against him and he has confirmed his words which he spake against us

and against our judges that judged us by bringing upon us a great evil for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Jerusalem he continue in verse 13 and 14 as it is written in the law of Moses all this evil is come upon us yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth therefore verse 14 has the Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us for the Lord this is Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth for we obeyed not his voice so beloved brothers and sisters in verses 11

to 14 Daniel confessed that Israel deserved the judgment that God laid upon the people of Israel God brought the Babylonian and God have allowed them to carry the Jewish people captive to Babylon God have allowed the Babylonian to destroy the temple in Jerusalem and the walls of Jerusalem and to carry the Jewish people to the land of Babylon and if you remember there in the land of Babylon Israel who deserved to be punished by God because of our own sin you remember what we read in Psalm 137 by the rivers of Babylon there we sat down yea we wept when we remember Zion we hung our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof for

there not as there Babylonian mocked the Jewish people they mocked at them and they said they that carried us away captive required of us a song and they that wasted us require of us mirth saying sing us one of the songs of Zion in mockery they mocked the Jewish people in Babylon because of the fact that God have allowed them to have this shame of faith because disobedient to the Lord brought the judgment of God that led the Jewish people to the land of Babylon but yet God loved them he didn't want them to be punished but they made it necessary for a holy and righteous God to discipline his people and therefore Daniel is

now in this chapter 9 is praying and confessing and repenting before God on behalf of his own people and so in verses 11 to 14 Daniel is mentioning the fact that Israel violated God's law that God brought upon the people of Israel this great evil that word in the Hebrew word is ra'ah and that simply means is calamity God does not sin and so God does not make Israel to sin but God brought upon Israel a calamity in Hebrew a ra'ah an evil judgment that God laid upon his people though he loved them though he cared for them though he wished that they will not be there yet he must judge sin and remember this

beloved brothers and sisters Paul again to apply this to us today Paul in Romans chapter 6 reminded the Roman believers that God will have to judge sin and he reminded him in Romans chapter 6 he said what shall we say then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid Romans 6 verse 1 and 2 how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein in other words the believer in his present day is responsible to submit to the Lord just as Israel in the days of old had the responsibility to submit to the Lord their God and if they don't God will discipline his own people whom the Lord loves

he chasteneth and he scourges every son whom he receives and so Daniel is confessing before the Lord God brought upon his people of Israel this great calamity Daniel Daniel confessed that yet Israel did not repent even after the judgment came Israel was not yet repenting they should have and Daniel is here doing it on behalf of the nation and we are confident that there were many godly young men and women boys and girls and godly men of Judah of Israel who were scattered throughout Babylon and there were a godly group of people a remnant that were in spite of the rest of the nation that were under the discipline of God they always prayed on

behalf of their own brethren wonderful to see that in the example in the life of Daniel and you notice what we read beloved brothers and sisters in verse 14 therefore has the Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us the word for watched in the Hebrew is the word means that God have been diligent in bringing about the discipline against his own people of Israel he was diligent he was watching and seeing to it that it will come to pass this is fascinating because God when he promised to discipline his people he will bring it to pass and he will make sure to see diligently that it will come to fruition because he

wants his people to come to their wits end and turn turn to turn to him in prayer to say God I confess that I have gone astray remind us of the Luke 15 passage when the son the younger son have turned away from his father and gone away and the father allowed him to experience what it is to be away from the presence of his father and if you remember how wonderful it says in the scripture concerning the return of that son how wonderful that the son it says and we read about him when he came to himself verse 17 of Luke chapter 15 he says how many hired servants of my father have bread

enough and to spare and I perish here with anger I will arise and go unto my father and I will say to him oh father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and I am no more worthy to be called thy son make me as one of thy hired servants and how the Abba how his Abba his father received him with love and affection when he was yet a great way of his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him and you remember when the son was saying to him I have sinned against heaven and in thy side and I am no worthy to be called

thy son and the father said to his servant bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and a shoe on his feet and they began to be merry what a celebration how God delighted when his people are restored to him beloved brothers and sisters and God delighted to have to hear the prayer of Daniel on behalf of the nation of Israel and so beloved brothers and sisters listen to this in the next verses verses 15 to 19 Daniel is now beseeching God to hear his prayer and to forgive the people of Israel and so listen beloved brothers and sisters what Daniel is saying here in verses

15 to 19 we read and now O Lord our God that it brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and has gotten thee renown as it this day we have seen we have done wickedly Daniel go back to remind God about the days in which God had taken our own forefathers out of the land of Egypt he takes him back to the days when our people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt they were in bondage they were slaves and on the basis of the history and the faithfulness of God to redeem his people Daniel is confessing in verse 16 all Lord according to all thy

righteousness I beseech thee I beseech thee let thine anger and thy fury turn away from notice thy city Jerusalem thy holy mountain this is Mount Moriah because for our sins and for our iniquities of our father Jerusalem and thy people have become a reproach to all that are about us no wonder the shame and the reproach that the people around were saying unto the Jewish people sing as one of the songs of Zion you the Jewish people who claim that your God is the only God and that the temple in Jerusalem is yours and the city of Jerusalem you show us sing unto us one of Zion songs and you remember what they said how

shall we sing Jehovah's song in a strange land they couldn't sing because they were as we read here in verse 16 that thy people and your city Jerusalem become a reproach unto all that are about us when God's people are in disobedience to the Lord they become a reproach a shame a shame when they are disobeying the Lord and turning away from him and he has to discipline them in verse 17 18 and 19 we read now therefore O our God hear the prayer of thy servant any supplication and cause listen cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake you remember God's face is always towards the city

of Jerusalem is always towards the temple the house and now the sanctuary the mikdash the sanctuary is desolate and Daniel asks God to look to have his face shining upon that destroyed sanctuary destroyed temple again in verse 18 oh my God incline thine ear and hear open thine eye then behold our desolation and the city which is called by thy name God set his name in the city of Jerusalem and he set his name in the sanctuary but sadly his own people our own nation of Israel violated God's word and now they were under the discipline of God and nearly 70 years is passing by and Daniel is asking for God forgiveness and God's face

to shine upon the sanctuary and that God will have mercy upon the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel so so you notice he says to do so therefore to do this for not for our righteousness verse 18 but for your great mercy oh lord oh my god incline your ear verse 18 here open thine eyes behold our desolation and the city which is called by thy name for we do not present our supplication before thee for our righteousness but for thy great mercies amazing beloved brothers and sisters and look at the conclusion of the prayer of Daniel beloved brothers and sisters listen to what Daniel is saying in verse 19 all lord hear

all lord forgive all lord hearken and do defer no for thine own sake oh my god for thy city and thy people are called by thy name beloved brothers and sisters the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel are called by God's name and God have called these people of Israel to be for his glory and that's why beloved brothers and sisters Daniel understood that and that's why he was crying to God that God will show mercy and will restore the people of Israel to himself and amazing to see how the heart of Daniel was so tuned with the will of God and he prayed earnestly on behalf of the people of Israel wonderful

to see beloved brothers and sisters how God is hearing the prayer of Daniel and he will respond to Daniel's prayer and so you notice this just to point one more time in these last final verses 15 to 19 notice every verse in this chapter 9 verses 15 16 17 18 and 19 notice verse 15 all Lord our God verse 16 all Lord verse 17 all our God verse 18 all my God verse 19 all Lord hear all Lord forgive all Lord hearken and do and Daniel sought the forgiveness of God for his people Israel and the restoration of the Jewish people back to the land why because in 539 BC this date when Darius the

son of the seed of the Mead became the king over the province of Babylon which was under the empire of the Middle Persian Daniel saw that the time is just arriving for the 70 years to be over from 6 or 5 BC to now soon there will be the restoration of Israel and in 536 BC indeed Cyrus have allowed the Jewish people to go back to the land of Israel to rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem and so just a few more years and God will restore his people the people of Israel back to the land but now as we will continue in our next meeting beloved brothers and sisters for verse 20

on to the end of the chapter God will instruct Daniel that even though he will restore the Jewish people back to the land and will rebuild the temple again and the walls of Jerusalem but that will not be at the end because once again the Jewish people will be disciplined by God and it is only in the latter days that God will finally restore Israel into a full restoration when Israel will accept the Messiah and it will be at his second coming not at his first coming this we will learn as we will study the remaining part of Daniel chapter 9 so beloved brothers and sisters what a lesson may the Lord help us to

learn from a man by the name of Daniel to pray on behalf of God's people to wish them always well to identify with their failure and not to have a haughty attitude as if we are better than our brethren may the Lord help us in all this and may the Lord lead us to be drawn closer to him because of the fact that he is a merciful and forgiving God who loved us and gave us his beloved son the Mashiach of Israel and the Savior of this world who loved us and was willing to lay down his life for our sins well beloved brothers and sisters God bless you until the next time we say

Shalom Shalom