Ezra's response to the letter
Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way 28 and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
For the third time in this chapter, we read that the hand of God was on Ezra, blessing his efforts with success. Apparently, Ezra had appeared before the Persian court to argue his case for his mission to Jerusalem. When he received a favorable verdict from the king and cabinet, he recognized this as a blessing from God. Ezra could plead the case, but it was only God who could move the heart of the king. The book of Proverbs makes this very clear: “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases” (16:1,3; 21:1).