In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. (Daniel 9:1-2 ESV)
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I think it is a pretty fair thing to say that Daniel was a pretty studious Scripture reader, and had read Jeremiah's words end to end multiple before. But in chapter 9 of Daniel we see that he perceives something new for the first time ever. I wonder if maybe it wasn't simply a matter of reading it enough times that he finally broke through and perceived it (though maybe there is a case for that?), but simply the Lord's timing for him to perceive it.
Do you read the Bible and sometimes feel like you read something new? It was there all along and you read it before, but you just never perceived it until now and it is new to you for the first time. It is the fact it was there all along that makes it even more glorious. Within the context of God's Word, of course, you discovered something new. That is one benefit of serving the Living God. How great is that, really? The Bible can never be boring. Only we are the ones who are boring when we approach the Bible boringly.
He has given us all the opportunity to share in the glory of kings.
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It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. (Proverbs 25:2 ESV)
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