Series: Resilience
Message: Hope
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 21:1-7.

Read: Daniel 9 - As you read in the New International Version, note 1-3 insights that arise.

Reflect: Daniel 9 is closely tied to Daniel 8, not only with the unresolved vision but also that the same angel, Gabriel, appears in both. Daniel 9 is the centerpiece of all Daniel’s visions, focused on the covenant and the hope that God is going bring the change—the Good News. Joyce G. Baldwin in her commentary on Daniel, p.187, shows that even with Gabriel coming instantly, there is study that is expected:

 “….One of the most important contributions of the book Daniel is its new insistence on the link between faith and intelligence. Wisdom and understanding were a gift (Daniel 9:22), but he was still told to consider the word and understand the vision (Daniel 9:23).”

Studying the last four verses, you start to see that the 70-year prophecy of Jeremiah will usher in a new prophecy of seventy weeks of years, or 490 years. Zdravko Stefanovic in his Commentary on Daniel Wisdom to the Wise, p. 359, adds: “The period of ten sabbatical cycles is enlarged here to ten jubilee cycles. In Israel, at the end of a jubilee cycle, slaves were to be set free and the land returned to its original owner (Leviticus 25). Isaiah 61:2 applies the year of the jubilee to the end of times, when, on the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the Lord’s servant would proclaim ‘the year of the LORD’s favor.’ Jesus Christ described the beginning of his own ministry in terms of a new jubilee (Luke 4:18,19).”

Understanding these last four verses brings incredible hope. 

Recalibrate: 

1. What is the Good News, and how do you currently share it?
2. How does seeing Jesus as the promise in the 490 years bring hope?

Respond: Pray for forgiveness and joy in Jesus. 

Research: Study Leviticus 25 and explore the concept of the Jubilee.