The blessing of God, however, did not make it unnecessary to exercise caution and careful planning. To safeguard the treasure, Ezra “separated twelve of the leaders of the priests ... and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God.” Verses 24, 25. He solemnly charged these men to act as vigilant protectors over the treasure. “Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of families in Israel at Jerusalem.” Verse 29, NRSV. RR 217.1
Ezra chose only those who had proven trustworthy. He recognized that order and organization were necessary in the work of God. RR 217.2
“We departed,” Ezra writes, “on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.” Verse 31. The journey took about four months. God restrained their enemies from harming them, and on the first day of the fifth month, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, they reached Jerusalem. RR 217.3