Ezra has a pure genealogical line all the way back to Aaron, brother of Moses, giving him much credibility!

Ezra 7:6
this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.

God caused the king to be predisposed (for such a time as this) and sympathetic to Ezra and his requests.

Ezra 7:18
You and your brother Jews may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God.

As a companion to giving in accordance with the will of God is also using in accordance with the will of God, something of which leaders of churches should be very conscious.

There is mention of the people of Trans-Euphrates.  This refers to people who lived across or beyond (trans) the Euphrates River. 

Ezra 7:23
Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and of his sons?

Interesting that the king gave Ezra everything he asked for – why? – because the hand of the Lord was on him. And why was the hand of God on him? – because he allowed God to guide his thinking. If we would allow God to guide our thinking the hand of the Lord would be upon us and we would wind up asking God for the very things He wants to give us anyway!

Remember God had told the people they would be in captivity for 70 years.  That time was up. The time to fulfill God's purposes had come.  

King Artaxerxes certainly made a bold statement concerning the temple in Jerusalem.  Do we do whatever is prescribed by God and do we do it with diligence? 

Did you get a handle on the amount of gold and silver they were carrying back to Jerusalem?  The footnotes at the bottom of page 1292 are very informative - 25 tons of silver???  No wonder they needed protection, there were "enemies and bandits along the way." And once they arrived in Jerusalem, everything was accounted for by number and weight.  Wonder how long it took them to do that?

To his credit, Ezra decided to fast and petition God concerning their travel safety.  He didn't want to ask the king for military protection.  God answered their prayer.  They were miraculously protected by the hand of God.  

Buried in the writings of Ezra (page 1292 or Ezra 7 and 8) is a seldom used “apparently insignificant” verse but is monumental in importance. It has to do with determining the travel time from Babylon to Jerusalem which in turn gives us a clue to the travel time of the wise men who came to honor the birth of Jesus. Also, with the danger of bandits along the way, chances are the wise men had an entourage with them to protect the valuable gifts they were bringing to Jesus. More details will follow on later e-study entries.