Folks, here's the deal. Ezra 7 is all about King Artaxerxes sending some of his people to Jerusalem. He sent Ezra, who was a priest and teacher of the law of God, to help the people of Israel learn the law and follow it. No malarkey here! My father used to say that the Lord had put it into the king's heart to do this, and he gave Ezra a letter authorizing him to do it. He also gave him silver and gold, grain and wine, and other things. So Ezra gathered up a bunch of Israelites, and they all went to Jerusalem. I'm not joking, Jack! See here, Ezra was a great leader and teacher, and he taught the people the law of God during the journey. He also made sure everyone in the group kept the law when they got to Jerusalem. And that's really all there is to it. What was that? Oh, he also gave the king some gifts, but that's about it. Excuse me, but no more malarkey. Literally!