Did that strike you as a little odd [that Ezra mentions] the king of Assyria? Well, the king of Assyria, Shalmaneser and Tiglath-Pileser, you remember them, right? They are long gone, isn't it? In fact, it was the Babylonians that overthrew the Assyrians, and now the Persians had overthrown the Babylonians and so we are three kingdoms removed from the Assyrians. I do not think it is a mistake. Ezra knows Darius is king of Persia. Why Assyria? Well, Assyria is the first Gentile oppressor that leads the people of God into exile, and it will actually be a string of ruthless kings starting with Assyria. In fact, when Nehemiah offers his magnificent prayer in Nehemiah 9:1–38 of his book, he actually goes back in Israel's history, not to Babylon, but to Assyria.
In other words, it could be that Ezra actually just sees in a sense, a spiritual solidarity of the oppressor of God's people—whether it was Shalmaneser or Tiglath-Pileser, or Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus or Darius. No matter who it is, the fact is the Lord is the King over all of them and in fact, Isaiah 10:1–34 tells us very clearly that Assyria is nothing but an axe handle in the hand of God. God is the one who is sovereign. God was sovereign over Assyria. God was sovereign over the Babylonians. God was sovereign over the Persians. God will be sovereign over the Greeks and God will be sovereign over the Romans. God is sovereign over every king, every kingdom, every nation, and that is why the people could rejoice, because no matter who the king is, his heart is like a channel of water in the Lord's hand; and
Brian Borgmanthe Lord himself is the One who turns it wherever he wills(Proverbs 21:1). God is the true sovereign. God is the true Lord. God is the one who rules over kings, presidents, and prime ministers.1
22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.