Messiah
DAY 63 WRITTEN BY: MARIE BRUNER-
Daniel 9:25
So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress.
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Daniel is living in exile in Babylon. He realizes that the exile is coming to a close after reading the book of Jeremiah. Soon, Israel will be restored to their land and their victory will depend upon their repentance…repentance for the very sins that put them in exile in the first place.
Daniel knows that Israel has not yet repented and he does what he always does, he prays. He doesn’t ask God to overlook their sins, Daniel simply asks that the Lord restore them in keeping with prophecy. Daniel reminds God that He is a covenant-keeping Father who has lovingly and faithfully dealt with Israel during all of their times of weakness and failure.
God graciously sends the angel Gabriel to Daniel to provide insight and understanding. Gabriel illumines Daniel regarding the plan of redemption that is on the horizon; God has a plan to solve the problem of sin in the fullness of time and that plan is the Messiah.
According to the revelation that Daniel received, the death of the Messiah (also called “the Anointed One” in some translations) will establish a strong covenant that will end sacrifices, put an end to sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness.
The Messiah, the one who was set apart for the purpose of redemption, has come. He completed His task of putting an end to sin by dying on the cross and defeating death through His resurrection. Although the Israelites as a nation have not accepted Jesus as Messiah, Romans 6:10 declares “For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God.”
Daniel was privy to the eternal plan that God set into place at the beginning of time. God outlined it to him because Daniel was in the right posture – he was reading the Word and in prayer. God revealed Himself and His plans to a righteous man who was confessing not only his sins, but those of his nation (See Daniel 9:4-6). We have that same access to God through confession of sin, constant prayer, and meditation on His Word – God will reveal Himself to us when we are seeking Him…confessing sin…talking to Him…reading His Word. And isn’t that what we want? More of Him?
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Father in Heaven, I want more of You! May I glean through the fields of Your Word daily in order to know more about You, Your character, and Your dealings with mankind. May I lean into the sanctification process that You are doing in my life and may my life be marked by prayer…that prayer that never ceases. Thank You for Jesus, our Messiah and Redeemer, the Anointed One who sacrificed Himself and paid the penalty for my sin and those of the whole world. Spirit, quicken my heart so that I never take that for granted.
