Today we come to one of most challenging and confusing parts of Daniel. There is no end of speculation as to the significance of the 70 weeks and the other numbers in this passage. It is almost as if in addition to the 70 weeks there are 70 different interpretations! St Jerome one of the most brilliant scholars in the ancient church listed nine conflicting opinions on the meaning of this passage before declaring himself unable to decide what one (if any) was right.
How then can we hope to make any sense out of this?
First of all we need to remember the context. We will make no sense of this passage if we forget that this is God's answer to Daniel's great prayer in the first half of chapter 9. It was given to Daniel in order to make something clear, not in order to confuse things further. We need to read it in this context.
Secondly in order to profit from this passage we need to focus on what is central and clear rather than what is complicated and contested.
Main Points:
- The God Who Answers His People's Prayers
- The God Who Works To His Own Timetable
- The God Who Will Make A New Covenant
Application Questions:
- Does it sometimes seem to you that God is slow in keeping His promises? Read 2 Peter 3:8-9. What does Peter say in response to this perception?
- What do you pray for, or what should you pray for, that might not be answered in your lifetime?
- In the light of the knowledge that God works according to His own timetable how do we keep up what Eugene Peterson calls 'a long obedience in the same direction'?