Daniel 9:1-3
1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:1-3)
In this short passage I would like to draw your attention to three things.
First, the time in which this event takes place — “the first year of Darius son of Xerxes.”
Second, Daniel’s attitude toward the Holy Scriptures — he reads the words of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:10; 25:11-12) and accepts them as true, without placing them under the slightest doubt.
And third, notice Daniel’s reaction to God’s revelation — he does not take it for granted that once something has been prophesied it will simply come to pass on its own; instead he begins to pray and to intercede for its fulfillment. This is the highest kind of prayer — prayer for the accomplishment of the plans and purposes of God.
THE FIRST YEAR OF DARIUS = THE FIRST YEAR OF CYRUS
The time in which Daniel is moved to pray is “the first year of Darius son of Xerxes.” By comparing Daniel 1:21, where it says that “Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus,” with Daniel 6:28, where it says that Daniel served during “the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian,” we can understand that these two rulers reigned at the same time and jointly, one being subordinate to the other (Darius to Cyrus). In other words, the first year of King Cyrus and the first year of Darius the Mede are one and the same year — and that is 538 B.C.
Darius the Mede has been identified by historians as Gubaru, the governor of Babylon. This came about as a result of clay tablets with cuneiform writing, discovered by archaeologists, which describe events from this period. This corresponds to the language of the Holy Scripture. Notice that verse 1 does not say of Darius that he “ascended the throne,” but that he was “made ruler” over the Babylonian kingdom — that is, he was not sovereign or independent, but received his royal authority from one higher than himself — the Persian king Cyrus. According to some scholars, the explanation for his different name is that in the time of the Medo-Persian empire the name “Darius” may have been more of an honorary title than a personal name — much like “Caesar” or “Augustus” in the later Roman Empire.
What is important for us, however, is that the first year of Darius the Mede and the first year of Cyrus the Persian overlap, and according to our reckoning they correspond to 538 B.C. I emphasize this fact because the placement of these events in time is, in this case, remarkable. It is remarkable because
- during that same year, 538 B.C., in which Daniel is thrown into the lions’ den,
- during that same year in which he most likely retires from his administrative post and gives himself more fully to communion with God and to spiritual work,
- during that same year in which he begins to understand that the time of Jerusalem’s desolation and the end of the Babylonian captivity is beginning to run out, and begins to pray for the restoration of his native city and the temple of God,
- during that same year King Cyrus issues a decree for the building of the temple in Jerusalem.
How does this happen? On a natural level, historians explain this change by the change of power. The Babylonians followed the Assyrian practice of deporting the peoples they conquered, on the assumption that they would not rise up in revolt for a land that was not their own. For this reason their policy was to shuffle the peoples around. This is also the origin of the Samaritans. They are the descendants of the mixture of peoples whom the Assyrians and Babylonians settled in the place of the captive and deported Israelites and Judeans. The Persians, however, had the opposite policy. They allowed peoples to return to their homelands in order to win their voluntary goodwill.
HOW THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES AFFECT THE MATERIAL WORLD
As spiritual people, however, we cannot fail to see the role of intercession and of God’s angels in this whole process. From a spiritual point of view, what actually happened during that first year of the reign of Cyrus and Darius the Mede?
1. In the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel we read how, with the fall of the Babylonian empire and the conquest of Babylon by the Persians, Daniel, together with two others, is placed in the office of chief administrator over the 120 satraps of the newly formed empire.
Then, failing in their attempts to find grounds for a charge with which to discredit Daniel, the other administrators and the satraps fabricate a decree meant to keep Daniel from praying to his God.
Daniel, of course, does not submit to the order but continues his life of prayer, and because of this “offense” he is thrown into the lions’ den.
In all of this, however, we cannot fail to sense the fear of Satan. It is as if in some way he senses in advance the role that Daniel is to fulfill as an intercessor and representative of God, and he makes every effort to destroy him. But God, in a marvelous way, preserves the life of his servant. And this becomes the occasion for Daniel’s accusers to be condemned and for the name of God to be exalted.
In Daniel 6:26-27 we can read the decree that King Darius issues on this occasion:
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:26-27)
All of this cannot have escaped the attention of King Cyrus either.
2. After this, during that same year, Daniel reads in the book of the prophet Jeremiah that “the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” He probably begins to reckon and calculate that from 605 B.C., when the first company of Judeans was deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, to 538, the year in which he was then living, about 67 years had passed.
The verses from Jeremiah that Daniel read are 25:11-12:
11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. (Jeremiah 25:11-12)
And also Jeremiah 29:10:
10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10)
3. Reading these words, Daniel begins to pray, to intercede, and to confess the sins of his people, with the plea that God’s anger would turn away from Jerusalem and that Solomon’s temple would be restored (Daniel 9:16-17).
16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. (Daniel 9:16-17)
4. It is as if God is only waiting for this prayer to be offered, and he answers instantly. In the book of Ezra 1:1-5 we read what happened.
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: (Ezra 1:1)
Here I would like to draw your attention to two things. The first is that, in order for the word of the Lord spoken through the mouth of Jeremiah to be fulfilled, Daniel had to pray it into being — and remember, this first year of Cyrus is also the first year of Darius the Mede! And the second is that the decree King Cyrus issued was the result of God having moved his spirit to issue it. In all of this we see the way in which God works and his authority over human history.
KING CYRUS — DESCRIBED 250 YEARS EARLIER BY THE PROPHET ISAIAH
Here is how King Cyrus begins his decree:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. (Ezra 1:2)
How did King Cyrus know all this?! The only explanation I have for this question is that, besides Jeremiah, Daniel had probably also read the prophecies that the prophet Isaiah gave concerning King Cyrus, written more than 200 years earlier. Marveling at their precision, Daniel met with King Cyrus and read to him what that God — the very God who had delivered Daniel himself from the lions’ den — had spoken concerning King Cyrus. And here is what it says (Isaiah 44:24-28; 45:1-6, 13):
24 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’ 1 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2 I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 44:24-28; 45:1-6, 13)
I believe that all these words simply stunned King Cyrus and certainly influenced him to write the following in his decree (Ezra 1:3-4):
3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’ ” (Ezra 1:3-4)
ASK ME ABOUT THINGS TO COME, AND COMMAND ME CONCERNING THE WORK OF MY HANDS
Notice that in that very same chapter 45, in verse 11, it says:
11 “This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? (Isaiah 45:11)
This is exactly what Daniel did. He inquired about the future — not from fortune-tellers, sorcerers, astrologers, or psychics, but from the Holy Scriptures. And then, in his humility, fasting, and intercession, he asked of God the fulfillment of his word. As we see from history, God answered this prayer of his, and the temple was built and Jerusalem was restored.
I believe that all of this is for us a great example and a great encouragement. Through this whole history — in which Jeremiah prophesies when the end of the Babylonian captivity will come, Isaiah predicts exactly how and by which king it will be established, Daniel prays God’s will into being, and Ezra records the final outcome, the decree of King Cyrus for the restoration of Solomon’s temple — we see the way in which God works. And a central role in it is played by the intercessors, who through the illumination of the Holy Spirit grasp what precisely God’s will is for the given historical moment, and ask for it.
All of this is a vivid illustration of the truth that intercessors have a uniquely important role in turning the wheel of world history.
LET US BE DANIELS FOR OUR TIME
The challenge to us is that we too should be Daniels for our generation — people who, with the help of the Holy Spirit, grasp God’s will and, in humility and faith, pray it into being.
The satisfaction of being part of the accomplishment of God’s plan is enormous. Therefore, let us too, like Daniel, look intently into the Holy Scriptures, so that we may see what God’s will is for our generation and pray it into being. This is the role of the intercessor. Amen!