The period in which Daniel is mourning and fasting is rather striking. You would expect that he would be celebrating now. The end of these three weeks falls on the twenty-fourth day of the first month. This was the period in which one of the most important feasts was held for the people of God: the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The great week of feasting was from the fourteenth to the twenty-first of that month. Daniel grieved and fasted while God’s people celebrated the feast that recalls the deliverance from Egypt.
Why did Daniel do this? What is the cause of Daniel’s sorrow? It had everything to do with the third year of Cyrus’ reign. What had happened in the first years of his reign? The good news was that in the first year of his reign, Cyrus had given God’s people permission to return to Canaan. He had even encouraged them to do so and also to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Then there is a great disappointment for the obedient part of God’s people. Most members of the church do not want to go back at all! They are doing well in Babylon and feel quite at home there. They envision a good economic future. Why would they endanger their future by returning to Canaan? Everything lies in ruins there. Everything needs to be rebuilt. They would have a much tougher time economically as well. They would have to leave behind everything they had built up. Shouldn’t you be thinking about your future and the future of your children? The Lord and his kingdom are no longer a priority among the majority of the church people. Sure, it is all a part of it but it is not the most important thing. It is only a small portion of Israel that goes back to the Promised Land in faith and love for the Lord. This is a great disappointment to Daniel who was somehow forced to stay behind. It is something that causes him to grieve intensely and pray about as well.
Daniel will certainly have heard that the small part that had gone back was living in difficult circumstances. The altar has been rebuilt but the further reconstruction of the temple is not progressing at all. One of the causes is the opposition from other people, especially the Samaritans who live in the land.
Everything seemed so beautiful. God’s people were allowed to return to the Promised Land after seventy years, according to God’s own Word. Now there is so much disappointment and there are so many problems. Daniel is looking for an intense and confidential contact with the Lord. With all his questions and disappointments, he takes refuge in his prayer with his God. He is filled with genuine grief. It really pains Daniel that a part of God’s people is in the process of leaving that true life with the Lord.
Daniel is standing near the river Tigris after having fasted for three weeks. His heart is filled with worry and sorrow about the present situation.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)