Ezra 10:17 Meaning and Explanation

The investigation runs its full course. Begun on the first day of the tenth month, the careful review of every man involved is brought to completion by the first day of the first month, roughly three months of steady, case-by-case work. The narrator marks the finish plainly: they made an end with all the cases. What was undertaken was carried through to the last.

There is faithfulness in finishing. The reform did not flag after its dramatic beginning; the leaders saw it through every painful case until the whole matter was settled. Good resolutions often die in the long middle, where zeal cools and the work grows tedious. That this congregation persevered to the end speaks well of their resolve. God honors not only those who begin well but those who endure to the finish, completing the obedience they have promised rather than leaving it half done.