Come Home: Tracing God's Promise of Home Through Scriptureনমুনা

Praying God's Promises

God’s people were finally home in the promised land, and you’d think it’d be smooth sailing—a “happily ever after” kind of situation. But they continuously welcomed the enemy of home—sin—into their hearts. God sent what seems like zillions of prophets to sound an alarm—like the kind that tells you when someone is breaking and entering. But God’s people didn’t care. They couldn’t and wouldn’t see sin as an enemy. So, God did what He said He would do: He sent physical enemies into the land to remove the people from their home. They went into exile. Far away from all that was familiar, God’s people had to grapple with the physical evidence of what had been spiritually true for a long while: they were not at home with God.

During the exile, Daniel was a man who kept his eyes toward home and the Home Maker, despite how Babylonian leaders sought to strip him of his heritage. He’s a powerful example of faithfulness to God in a foreign land. While he was estranged, he was willing to be strange. He prayed regularly, obeyed God’s laws, and read God’s Word.

When Daniel realized the exile had an expiration date that was quickly approaching, he responded in a very Daniel way. He prayed.

Daniel was saturated with God’s Word! In the text we’ll read today, he referenced both Jeremiah and Moses. In mentioning Moses, Daniel spoke of the first five books of the Old Testament. He also listed characteristics of God over and over again. This was a man who truly sought to know God as He has revealed Himself in His Word! As a result, Daniel also had a clear and accurate understanding of his people and their sins. (When we look at God, seeing our sin is easier.)

Sometimes, when we want someone to get over something we’ve done, we downplay it and act like it wasn’t that bad. Daniel did the exact opposite. He desired God’s mercy, so he was brutally honest about the shortcomings of his people and appealed to God’s character. In other words, Daniel wasn’t saying, “What we’ve done isn’t that bad.” He was saying, “Who You are is so good!”

The angel Gabriel showed up as Daniel was praying and went on to share a mysterious and number-laden prophecy. On the one hand, the prophecy was bad news—the seventy years was just the start of their waiting. The coming “home going” wouldn’t truly feel like home. (The books of Ezra and Nehemiah give evidence that this was true.) Sin was the true enemy that needed to be dealt with, not the Babylonians. Sin was still at home in people’s hearts and still needed to be destroyed.

God’s people longed to go back home (and technically, they would), but in the fullness of time, a truer home would be revealed. God would “bring the rebellion to an end,” “put a stop to sin,” “atone for iniquity,” “bring in everlasting righteousness,” “seal up vision and prophecy,” and “anoint the most holy place” (all phrases from Daniel 9:24). How would He do this? How would He deal with the enemy of sin and make the way home? With the coming of the “Anointed One” (v. 25). The Greek word Christ and the Hebrew word Messiah both mean “Anointed One.” Most commentators believe, in one way or another, this mysterious, number-laden prophecy points to Jesus!

There has been much discussion about the numbers found in verses 24-27 of Daniel 9. When we encounter a number in the Bible, we tend to think like a math student, but we should also think like a literature student. Numbers are deeply symbolic!

The Daniel text mainly features sevens. In ancient Near Eastern and Israelite cultures, seven represented fullness or completeness. For example, think about how God created the world and rested on the seventh day as if enjoying its completeness. Daniel had been amazed by God’s promise to Jeremiah to complete the exile in seven decades. Gabriel spoke of what would happen in “seventy-sevens”—the ultimate mark of completion.

Out of deep affection for Daniel, God the Father spilled the beans (albeit mysterious beans) about His plan to send God the Son to make the way home by defeating the enemy of sin and making a way for God and people to be together. This is a much better promise of home than a return from exile. Jesus is the only One who could fulfill the Exile promise: “I will give you new hearts, and I will bring you home.”

Read Daniel 9:1-27 and thank the Lord for the promise of the Messiah and the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus.