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:

When there was something important the Lord wanted His followers to hear in the Bible, He would repeat the word two to three times to draw attention to it. He continues to do this in our present lives as well. This message of redeeming grace continues to come up in my daily reading, in testimonies I’m listening to, and in my own life’s circumstances.