Ezra and Nehemiah are complementary stories to each other. Both books of the Hebrew Bible speak of men serving God as leaders of their fellow men. Ezra, "a scribe, expert in the law of Moses" (Ezra 7:6) is primarily concerned with the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and, following the prescriptions found in the Mosaic covenant and in Nehemiah, is concerned with the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem as expressed in a portion of Nehemiah 2:17-20: "'See the evil situation in which we find ourselves... Come, let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so that we can no longer be mocked!'" (Nehemiah 2:17). Both Ezra and Nehemiah respect the laws of the Lord. Both Ezra and Nehemiah are fearless in honoring their Lord with their lives and respective ministries. The Book of Tobit, however, completes the story of these men's faith in the Lord by providing glimpses of their faith challenges not expressed in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Throughout all three books, we see the rebuilding of the city walls and temple to effectively honor and worship the God of Israel, as prescribed by the Mosaic covenant and promulgated by Ezra's proclamations. The Book of Ezra begins with a concise history of Jerusalem, leading to the ministry of Ezra. It begins with Yeshua in the third chapter. Jeshua “[rebuilds] the altar of the God of Israel to offer on it the burnt offerings prescribed in the law of Moses” (Ezra 3:2). The people who inhabited the land were the ones who had destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem. Because of the earlier destruction, Jeshua and his people were afraid of them (Ezra 3:3). Despite this fear, Jeshua began with burnt offerings to the Lord. Ezra 5 describes the prophets who begin to reconstruct time...... middle of paper ......helped him to fortify his army who watched and protected both day and night the construction of the city walls . All of these men built faith in God in their own lives and in the lives of those who lived in their cities. These faith buildings are what remains in the kingdom of God. Works Cited Brown, Raymond Edward, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. "Tobit, Judith, Esther." Jerome's biblical commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 620-624.Print.Collins, John J. “Ezra and Nehemiah.” A brief introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007. 220-228. Print.Haupt, Paul. "Tobit's Blindness and Sarah's Hysteria." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 60.2 (1921): 71-95. JSTOR. Network. November 10, 2013. Russell, James. "God is good to Tobit and Iran." Iran and the Caucasus 5.1 (2001): 1-6. JSTOR. Network. November 11. 2013.