August 23: SKILL TO UNDERSTAND
Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. Daniel 9:20-21
…the man Gabriel: During his prayer, Daniel is suddenly visited by a heavenly messenger. Gabriel had not been able to finish his assignment earlier (8:16) because Daniel was upset by part of his vision (8:27). So now Gabriel returns in the form of a man, just as before. Still, the heavenly glory is imposing!
…being caused to fly swiftly: Take comfort, beloved, to know that great distances are not a challenge for the messengers of heaven. Heaven is as near to earth as a whispered prayer. If any of us needs help and asks for it, the Commander of the Angel Armies commissions a holy angel to come to our aid.
…reached me about the time of the evening offering: The Hebrew word for reached, naga’, can also mean touched. See 8:17-18 for a sweet reminder of Gabriel’s tender efforts to comfort Daniel. Remember, too, that Daniel had formed a habit of prayer three times a day. Even though the temple in Jerusalem had lain in utter ruins through the decades he had spent in Babylon, his prayer life was timed to honor the two daily sacrifices, morning and evening (Numbers 28:4), conducted by the priest that he had witnessed as a child. Daniel also offered prayer in the middle of the day (Daniel 6:13).
Daniel, aware of the conditional nature of many of God’s promises, was concerned over a lack of sincere repentance among his people, the Jews. He feared that the two-thousand-three-hundred-days prophecy could be an extension of the seventy years of Babylonian captivity prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:8-11). That would be awful! This is why he prayed “Do not delay” (Daniel 9:19).
And [Gabriel] informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter and understand the vision.” (9:22-23)
…skill to understand: Daniel had done the math regarding the seventy years (9:2). Its end was fast approaching and he was anxious for the temple to be rebuilt. But the long waiting period for it be cleansed (v.14) was confusing. The study of Bible prophecy most definitely requires skill to [properly] understand and Gabriel was back to bring to Daniel a detailed explanation. We also need skill to understand God’s prophecies of time and the symbolism involved, all under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Each of us is also greatly beloved by the King of the Universe! Let us follow Daniel’s example of prayer, asking boldly for things in accordance with the word of the Lord.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! Luke 11:13