It is clear that both kings Darius and Artaxerxes understood the Lord as “the God of heaven” (Ezra 7:12). They recognized His authority there, as well as over Israel and Jerusalem. The fear of the Lord was on these rulers as they handed permission and provision to the Israelites to return to their country and serve their God. There are a number of ways that the LORD showed Himself as sovereign and present in this chapter: