Well, seven years have gone by and Artaxerxes has taken over as king of the world. He gives a decree that the rest of Israel can now return home to Israel. The exile is over. A guy named Ezra, the priest and teacher of those remaining in Babylon is given high privilege and basically whatever he wants because the hand of God was upon him. Sounds like someone else...really the only other person we've met who is under the same type of captivity, yet given so much leash is Joseph.
Chapter seven mainly covers Artaxerxes' letter to Ezra, essentially releasing the Israelites to return home, take whatever they need, and to put Ezra in charge of them.
It sounds like Artaxerxes wants to make sure that Israel is doing ok, and that no one messes with them. He wants to make sure that Israel has everything they need to get back on their feet, and sort of re-establish themselves as a people in Judea. He even wants to make sure that Israel has enough to buy all the necessary sacrificial animals as required by God. It is quite...eyebrow raising...? to see how the kings of these nations: Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes all follow each other and are so charitable in their treatment of Israel. Religious tolerance...probably. Something God used to Israel's advantage.
It doesn't appear that any of these leaders particularly worshipped God as God alone. Artaxerxes at least "gets" God. He wants to bless Israel, and even explicitly says that he doesn't want to needlessly incur God's wrath. Maybe what God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 got back to him. But even if it didn't those who messed with Israel and God took a beatdown, at least when Israel was attuned to the will of God.
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