Seventy Sevens
by Rod Jackson
All verses are quoted from the NASB anything in [square brackets] is added by me for clarity. Strong's numbers are preceded by a Hash #.
"in the first year of his [Darius the Mede's] reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years." Daniel 9:2
Daniel noticed in the book of Jeremiah the prophecy concerning the number of years that Israel would be exiled in captivity. Here is where it is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah -
" `This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I [God] will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, `for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.' " Jeremiah 25:11-12
After Daniel reads these words he repents and asks for forgiveness for Israel's sins. During his confession to God, Daniel says -
"Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your [God's] law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him." Daniel 9:11
What is this curse/oath that is written in the book of Moses?
Speaking about what will happen to Israel if they continue to disobey God, Moses writes -
"You [Israel], however, I [God] will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it." Leviticus 26:33-35
Here is God's curse on Israel if they continually sin against God. The Israelites will be exiled and the land will enjoy it's sabbath rest. The land is to enjoy all the years that it did not observe it's sabbath rest before they were exiled.
"Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete." 2 Chronicles 36:20 & 21
So we see that the land of Israel needed to "enjoy" it's sabbaths. The land kept Sabbath the whole 70 years. So how often was the land supposed to keep sabbath?
"The LORD then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, `Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, "When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat." Leviticus 25:1-7
Every 7th year was to be a Sabbath year and the land was to rest. The land rested all the sabbaths that it was supposed to "enjoy" but didn't, which was 70 years. Therefore 70 years of Sabbaths multiplied by 7 for every 7th year that was when it was supposed to rest (70 7s) gives us 490 years as the number of years that the land of Israel did not have it's sabbath rest.
So Israel was disobedient to God for 490 years. Then God punished them for 70 years, allowing the land to make up for the 70 Sabbath rests that it missed during the 490 years of disobedience. This is very interesting because after Daniel finishes his prayer of repentance, the angel Gabriel comes to Daniel.
"He [Gabriel] gave me [Daniel] instruction and talked with me and said, `O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. Seventy weeks [#7620] have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.' " Daniel 9:22-24
This word translated "weeks" with Strong's number #7620 can also be translated "seven" or "period of seven". So Gabriel is saying that Israel now has 70 7s to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
So Israel was disobedient for 7 70s, they were punished for one 70 and then they had 7 70s to get back on track!