The bulk of chapter 9 is Daniel's prayer of confession and intercession for his people because he knows the time of exile is drawing to a close. In this he is a model for us as we pray for our own people. At the end of the chapter, Gabriel gives him a vision which stretches from his own time to the end of days.

Jeremiah gave a very dire prophecy about Jehoiakim and had it written down on a scroll. When the king's ministers heard it, they had it read before the king. As each page was read, the king cut it from the scroll and threw it into the fire. This attempt to 'destroy the prophecy' did not work.

The entire message of the Bible is summed up in the advice to "choose life." Further, the path to life is simple even though it is not easy. It boils down to, 'Love God and do not engage in spiritual adultery with any other gods." and "Do your best to live and organize your society according to the principles laid out in the Torah."

Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat are prophetic symbols of the Persian and Greek empires. Daniel did not understand the vision until it was explained to him by Gabriel. For us the prophecy of 2,300 evenings and mornings are of particular interest.

In another bit of 'performance prophecy' Jeremiah is instructed to purchase a field in Anathoth because he is the redeemer. Since Judah and Jerusalem are about to be destroyed, Jeremiah himself will not possess the field. The act then is a statement by God that He will restore Israel and Judah and that the original property rights will also be restored. In this continuation of His description of the New Covenant, God assures Jeremiah that He will neither forget His people nor the land he promised to them.

Ki Tavo starts with a farmer bringing first fruits and reciting a brief history of Israel and finishes with a list of terrible curses. How does a nation get from the blessings described at first to the curses at the end. The key is the historical recitation.

With the first 6 chapters of historical background complete, the topic turns to prophecy. This first prophetic chapter describes the four empires that are of interest to Israel and her people.

As Jerusalem is about to be destroyed by Babylon, God sends a message of hope to the people who are about to go into exile. He promises a future restoration and a new covenant with a reunited Israel. The only difference between the New Covenant and the old one is the medium upon which it is written. Moses wrote on tablets of stone symbolizing Israel's hard heart. God will write the same words but upon hearts of flesh. The terms of the covenant will be internal rather than imposed from the outside.

The month of Elul is best used in preparation for the Holy Days in Tishre. In the natural, one would prepare for an important business meeting. How much more then should we prepare for an encounter with God?

The final two chapters of the historical narrative sees the end of Babylon as an independent kingdom and the rise of the Medes and the Persians. As a major figure in both Babylon and Persia, Daniel interprets the writing on the wall for Belshazzar and survives an attempted assassination via the lion's den.