Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.
Artaxerxes has already backed Ezra with a royal decree, and now he adds a strange order: do all that the God of heaven asks, or wrath may fall on the king and his sons. The questions here are about the king, not Ezra: what did he understand, what did he fear, and who put such words in his mouth?
A Foreign King and the God of Israel
How much real faith stood behind this decree? The king names God three times over, yet one thing is missing.
H. L. RossierThe rulers of Persia had a certain fear of God, but no living faith. Like his grandfather Darius, Artaxerxes acknowledged the God of heaven... but, in his decree, Artaxerxes goes further: he acknowledges the God of Ezra (v. 14), the God of Israel (v. 15), and the God of Jerusalem (v. 19). He also admits his own responsibility toward this God, whose wrath is something to fear (v. 23).
The Wrath Behind the Command
The command and the warning sit in one sentence. The king wants nothing left out, because he has worked out what neglect could cost him.
Leslie M. GrantIt may seem amazing that the King of Persia would decree, "Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven" (v. 23). We might expect such words from a godly king of Israel; but God knows how to work in the hearts of others outside Israel too. Artaxerxes realized that the God of heaven was in such control that He might make Persia suffer His wrath if they did not encourage Israel to obey God.
The Empire Placed Under God's Will
The king does not just allow the work. He orders everything to fall in line with God's will. Commentators differ on whether his own heart was touched.
Edward DennettYou cannot miss it: this non-Jewish king refers everything to the will of God. To put it more exactly, he directs that everything be arranged in submission to that will... because he confesses the Lord as the God of heaven (vv. 21, 23), it may be that grace had visited his heart... The lesson lies on the surface: God is sovereign in the choice of His instruments... Our chapter shows it. "Artaxerxes, king of kings," and "Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of God," are joined together to carry out God's thoughts for His people and for His house in Jerusalem.
Why the Order Had to Come Through a Foreign Throne
Why does the order reach Jerusalem through Persia at all? One writer traces it to the throne God Himself had set up among the nations.
J. N. DarbyHere again it is still the Gentile king who sends him for this purpose to Jerusalem. All blessing is of God, but nothing... in the matter of authority comes directly from God. He could not ignore the throne that He Himself had set up among the nations on the earth. And Israel was an earthly people.
Ezra's Reading of the Same Event
Ezra, who copies the decree into his book, credits none of it to his own standing at court.
Edward DennettSo it was not his own asking (v. 6) that moved the king to act. It was God who put the thing into the king's heart. It was not Ezra's influence that won him favour with the king and his princes. It was God who showed him mercy in front of them. It was not in his own power that he gathered the chief men to go up with him. It was God who strengthened him, with His own hand upon him.
An Open Door for a Prepared Heart
The king set an open door before Ezra. What Ezra brought to it was a heart already made up.
William KellyIn the book we are considering, king Artaxerxes is the figure of one that sets an open door before Ezra. Yes, but Ezra's heart was set to do the will of God. God works all outward circumstances. He opens the way when our heart within is set on doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. We have no ground ever to complain about circumstances, if only our heart is right with the Lord. The Lord can and will take care of all else.
Summary
- The hand that moves kings. God worked in the heart of a foreign ruler. So a Persian king spoke of the God of Ezra, the God of Israel, and the God of Jerusalem.
- The hand that is feared. Artaxerxes wanted the work done in full. He feared that neglect would bring wrath on his realm and his sons.
- The hand that supplies. The king's letter put the empire's authority under a will that was not his own. It joined "king of kings" and scribe together for God's house.
- The hand that guides. Ezra credited the decree, the favour, and his own strength to God, not to his request or influence.
- The hand that opens doors. The open door met a man whose heart was already set to do God's will. Keep the heart right, and God handles the circumstances.