What does Daniel 9:14 mean?
Israel's experiences at the hands of Assyria (2 Kings 17:1–8) and Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:5–7) were horrific. Daniel's entire life was impacted by God's wrath on the Jewish people (Daniel 1:1–7). Yet Daniel doesn't accuse the Lord of being unfair or unjust. Instead, he acknowledges that Israel's own sin and disobedience brought about their destruction. God had warned the nation (Deuteronomy 28:15–24, 48–50; 29:25). The nation refused to listen. Daniel prays (Daniel 9:3–4) for the promised restoration of his people (Jeremiah 29:10–14), yet his prayer includes corporate confession their sin (Daniel 9:5–13).The Hebrew word translated as "kept ready" is yisqōd, which suggests watching, waiting, and awareness. The same root word, shaqad, is included in Jeremiah 1:12 to picture the Lord "watching over" His promises to fulfill them. God faithfully watched over His words in Deuteronomy 28; He uprooted His disobedient people from their homeland. Just as surely as He fulfilled His word about punishments, He would fulfill His word about blessings for obedience. He promised: "Behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid" (Jeremiah 30:10).
God also promised to end the captivity after seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). That would have been encouraging to Daniel: at the time he wrote these words, he had been captive for around sixty-five or sixty-six years. The fall of Babylon and the words of Jeremiah would have been a source of hope (Daniel 9:1–2)
