Ezra 8:28, 30 And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers….So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
Ezra and the returning Jews were coming back to Jerusalem with a huge amount of gold, silver, and a large amount of treasure to transport. Not only did the Lord redeem His people from Exile, but He also provided them with great blessing and wealth. And they made the journey without an armed guard.
The Lord God had made them holy, and the things they brought with them. To be holy is to be set apart for Godly purposes. The people responded to God’s great blessing and salvation with a freewill offering to the Lord. They did not personally take the wealth God granted and enjoy it for themselves, but they offered it to the Lord’s service of their own free will, without force or coercion. It is like what we, as elders in heaven, will do before the throne of God, as described in Revelation. We will receive golden crowns as gifts of grace from God and then immediately cast them down before God.
Our response to God’s grace and blessing in Christ is to freely offer our selves and our things to the service of the Lord. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”