Announced in Daniel
Read Daniel 9:7–11. In his prayer, how did Daniel describe the condition of the people?
In order to experience divine healing and freedom from sin, we must first recognize our condition as sinners and as violators of God's revealed will. A fundamental human problem is our unwillingness to acknowledge that there is something seriously wrong with us, that we are in desperate need of forgiveness and reconciliation with our Creator. Even forgiven sinners constantly must recognize, as Daniel did, that we are in daily need of God's forgiving grace.
What is Daniel's specific request to the Lord? On what basis is Daniel making this request? Dan. 9:16–19.
Once we realize our condition as sinners, one of the most important discoveries we can make concerning our relationship with God is that the only thing we have to do to receive forgiveness is to ask for it. Daniel was totally relying on God's mercy, on His wonderful grace, as the only way out of His status as sinner.
In this chapter we also find a prophecy in which God revealed not only how He was planning to address the problem of sin but also the time frame within which this would happen, the when (see Dan. 9:24-27). The how was through His Anointed One, the Messiah, the King to which all the other kings of Israel pointed and represented. The time for His sacrificial death and the initiation of His priestly work (the anointing of the sanctuary) is given in terms of 70 weeks (490 years). The prophetic period runs from 457 B.C. to A.D. 34. God expected His people to be ready for the coming of the Messiah. What this incredible prophecy shows, in a very clear way, is that God is not only in absolute control of every aspect of His work of salvation but that He will make sure it accomplishes its eternally intended purpose.
How important is it for you to remain aware that, although you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are in constant need of His forgiving grace? Is that a threat to your assurance of salvation or a way of affirming that assurance? Give reasons for your answer.
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