“In the first year of Darius, son of Xerxes…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. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed…” (Daniel 9:1-4)
Why is THE STORY, the grand and true narrative of Scripture, so important? Does it even matter? Is it outdated, irrelevant? Is there even such a thing as one universal story? Since the nineteenth century, people have been asking these questions. I’ve been reviewing Daniel as I finish a study based on Scotty Smith’s recent sermon series, and today I came on Daniel 9 and these words about the radical nature of what God does through Scripture. My suggestion is — read all of Daniel 9 to see what comes out of Daniel’s reading of Scripture, and then read these words by Tremper Longman III:
“How do human beings communicate with God? Daniel 9 provides an illustration. God speaks to us through the words of his representatives, the prophets…Though dead and gone by this time, Jeremiah’s written word still speaks God’s word to his people. Daniel hears God’s words in Jeremiah and responds through prayer….
God speaks to his people in his written and spoken Word. This principle is simple on the surface, but is really at the heart of biblical religion and contrasts with the modern ideas of Christianity. Since the nineteenth century philosophers Feuerbach and Nietzsche, it has commonly been believed that the God of Christianity is the product of human imagination. Human beings desire a God, so they have constructed him in their own image. The Bible, however, claims to be the revelation of God to human beings. God uses human language to make his existence and nature known to us. In the Bible, he makes his will known to his people.” Tremper Longman III, NIV Application Commentary: Daniel.
It’s pretty radical stuff when you think about it.
For reflection:
Read Daniel 9 aloud. Join with Daniel in the prayer of confession and repentance he prays.
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