Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. – Daniel 9:25
Daniel had proven on multiple occasions that he was a man of God blessed with understanding and wisdom. In the year Darius became king of Persia, Daniel was studying the words of the prophet Jeremiah, and he understood that the Israelite captivity in Babylon would last 70 years due to their sin. Daniel confessed the sin of Israel and prayed for mercy upon Jerusalem. In the midst of this prayer, he received a visit from the angel Gabriel and a vision of the coming days when the full measure of God’s mercy would be given. The countdown had begun. The Messiah or Christ would come to save His people from their sins once and for all.
At the time of Jesus’s birth some remembered this prophecy, and it seems clear that Daniel’s legacy of service among the wise men of Babylon and Persia was deep. “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2). Surely these wise men, these foreign men, came because of the prophecy left by Daniel. Though outsiders they rejoiced in the coming of the one true King. The One promised would establish truth and reconciling grace. The Good Shepherd who would give His precious life for the sheep who had gone astray.
Will you worship the King as did the wise men? Will you follow the Light of His life? There is hope and joy in that light. Hope and Joy.