The (apocryphal) Book of Tobit

Today I would like to further step out on a limb and look at one more apocryphal biblical book that is not found in our Protestant , and that is the book of Tobit. As in the which we studied last week, it dates from the intertestamental period, and was written during a very tumultuous time in Jewish history. Words of encouragement were certainly welcomed (does that remind you of the COVID era where are now in?) The author is unknown, and as with Judith, many look on the book as a story with a lesson rather than a historical writing. It is often studied along with the books of Judith and Esther as part of a trilogy. As you may remember, the is found in our protestant . As with Judith, I found Tobit to be a “good read.”

The story contains two main groups of characters that are joined in the end. The first group consists of Tobit, his wife Anna, and their son Tobias. The second group consists of Sarah and her parents. Tobit and his family were Jews who have been exiled to the city of , in the country of after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Sarah and her parents were Jews living in the city of Ecbatana, which was in the region of Media. This was about 350 or so miles from Nineveh.

The story opens with a description of Tobit. He is a very devout Jew, and was raised by his paternal grandmother after being orphaned. After the Northern and Southern kingdoms split, Tobit’s chose to worship the god of the pagans. He refused to join them and maintained his connection with Jerusalem and the sacrifices performed at the temple. Many verses that I did not include in my paraphrase were spent describing his unselfish heart, including how he gave an abundance of offerings to the priests, the poor, and orphans living in Jerusalem, and how he risked his life to “do the right thing” by burying his fallen kinsmen. He also refused to eat the food of the pagans in Nineveh after he was exiled there, even though his countrymen did.

While in exile, the Lord found favor with him, and as a result, the king took a liking to him. He was given a position under the king to act as an agent in conducting financial matters, and did so until the king’s death. This involved occasionally investing assets in distant cities. On one occasion, he deposited 10 talents of silver with a man named Gabael in Media. That would be worth about $300,000 today.

After the king died, his son took over, and chaos ensued. The roads to Media were closed, and Tobit could no longer go there. However, due to his righteous nature, he had a desire to give proper burials to his countrymen whom had been slain by the king’s son. He would find the bodies scattered here and there, and secretly give them a proper burial. This was something the new king forbade. Tobit was finally discovered. He fled for his life because of the king’s anger, losing all of his belongings.

Forty days later the new king was murdered by his two sons, and Tobit was allowed to return to Nineveh. One evening, after returning, he told his son Tobias to go out into the city to find someone in need of a meal, and to bring that person home. Instead, Tobias came home with the news that he had seen a murdered Israelite lying in the street. Tobit immediately went out to retrieve and bury the body. That night, he went outside to sleep because it was very hot. During the night, some bird droppings fell into his eyes, and he was blinded. His wife Anna was forced to find work to make a living. One day she came home with a goat as a partial payment for her services. He accused her of taking stolen goods, and told her to return it. She got angry and reminded him that his good works had not resulted in exactly a good life. Feeling extremely depressed, he prayed to God to take his life.

The story then switches to the second plot. That same day, Sarah, the daughter of Raguel in Media, was also praying for death. She had been given in marriage seven times, and each time the groom was struck down on their wedding night by a jealous named , the demon of lust. After a servant ridiculed her and accused her of killing all of her bridegrooms, she also prayed to God for death.

God heard both of their prayers, and found favor with them. He sent his angel to bring remedy to both. Raphael would restore Tobit’s sight, get rid of the demon, and unite Sarah and Tobias in marriage. It turns out that they were unknowingly of common kin, and, because of that, were actually destined by the to be wed.

On that same day, Tobit remembered the silver he had left in Media many years before, and instructed his son to retrieve it before he died. The money apparently reverted to him, since the king and his son were dead, and he was the one who had deposited it. He had kept proof of the transaction all of those years. Tobias was leery of taking such a long journey by himself, so he requested that his father hire a guide to help him. Raphael suddenly appeared on the scene. He presented himself as a kinsman of Tobit named Azariah, and was subsequently engaged to accompany his son on the journey, since he had been there many times. Of course, Tobit had no idea that Azariah was really and angel.

Tobias, along with his dog, and Azariah set out. Along the way, they stopped by a river to wash. As Tobias placed his foot in the water, a very large fish came up and nearly swallowed his foot. Raphael immediately told him to wrestle the fish from the water, and to cut it open. He was to save the gall, the heart, and the liver. These organs had curative powers. As they continued on their journey, Raphael explained that burning the liver and heart would drive away for good. The gall could be used as an ointment to cure blindness.

When they arrived in Media, Raphael told Tobias that they would be staying at the home of one of Tobias’ kinsmen named Raguel. He further explained that Tobias was the closest relative and rightful partner for his daughter Sarah. He told Tobias of the seven deceased grooms and of the demon. Tobias was of course a wee little concerned about marrying this girl, but Raphael assured him that if he burned the fish organs and prayed to God with Sarah on their wedding night, the demon would not only leave, but be bound up forever. Sarah’s father agreed to the match, and the two were escorted into the wedding chamber. Talk about a short engagement! Tobias did as he was told, and in fact, the demon was driven away. Raphael himself followed him to the land of Egypt and bound him up. Sara’s father however was still concerned, and secretly dug a grave for Tobit, just in case. When he discovered that Tobias was still alive the next morning, he quickly filled in the hole.

While the family was celebrating the marriage, Raphael went on to recover the money so that they could more quickly return to Nineveh. Tobias had already agreed to his father-in-law’s request of spending 14 days there for an extended celebration, and then he begged them to stay even longer. Tobias was afraid that his parents would be worrying about his extended absence, so they finally all returned to Nineveh. By the time they returned (even the dog made it), Tobias’ mother was frantic. She had been spending her whole days just staring down the road, looking for her son. As they were nearing town, Raphael suggested that Tobias and he hurry to his house to help his mother prepare it for the coming group, and let the rest of the group catch up. He reminded Tobias to bring the gall. When they got home, he gave Tobias his word that his father’s eyes would be opened. He said “you must put the fish’s gall to his eyes; the medicine will smart and will draw a filmy white skin off of his eyes. And your father will be able to see again. Tobias followed his instructions, and sure enough, Tobit’s sight was restored. He immediately blessed God for the miracle.

Later, Tobit discussed with Tobias what they could give to Raphael in addition to his agreed-upon wage. Tobit suggested that he be given half of all the money and belongings they had brought back from Media. Sarah’s father had given her half of his possessions before they left, plus they had the $300k from the silver. When they offered these things to Raphael, he finally told them the truth. He had been sent by God after hearing Tobit’s and Sarah’s prayers. His mission was to test Tobit’s faith, to heal him, and to heal Sarah as well. He further explained that they had only thought that they had seen him, but it was only an appearance. With that, he told them to bless and praise God. He told them to write down everything that had happened, and then rose into the air, no longer visible.

Tobit then offered a lengthy prayer. He then told Tobias to leave Nineveh as soon as Tobit and his wife were dead. He told Tobias of the coming fall of that city as proclaimed by the prophet Nahum, (which actually did occur) and wanted Tobias and his family to avoid that catastrophe. After his parents both died, Tobias returned to Media with his new family.

And there you have it. What did you think? When I first read it, I was kind of turned off by the fanciful turn of events. It reminded me of reading a fairy tale. I thought “this is too contrived and fanciful—what can I learn from this?” But then I examined each unbelievable detail and thought “wait a minute—these types of events are found in the bible that I know and believe—there are exorcisms; such as the time Jesus drove out the demons of the possessed man into a heard of pigs, miracles; I won’t even start listing examples, guardian angels, as when of an angel liberated Peter from prison, and people being seen rise up into heaven, as with Jesus himself. What’s going on here?” what can we learn from this book?

It struck me that Tobias’ story was a lot like Job’s, although the description of Tobit’s character seemed to paint him as an even more devout person than Job in trying to please God. God allowed a debilitating disease to inflict them both, their wives reminding them that this is what they got for following God and doing good works. They both prayed for death, but neither disavowed God. And in the end, they were both cured, and wound in comfortable straights; the wealth of both was greatly increased.

Here are a few messages that jumped out at me; see if you can think of others:

Have faith that God has our best interest in mind. He may test our faith, but that’s no reason to disown him. As in the Book of Esther, we see God’s hand at work. I wonder if the money thing was somehow contrived by God so that Tobias would have a reason to go to Media many years later and initiate the happy turn of events. What do you think? The main characters exhibit enormous moral strength arising from a complete trust in God. We talked about Tobit, but Tobias was a chip off the old block. He followed, with faith, the moral instructions of his father, and always tried to do the “right thing” because he knew his father was a godly man. Sarah wanted to hang herself, but didn’t do it because she did not want to further shame her father. Instead she fervently prayed to God that she be taken before any more marriage prospects were killed. Can you see why the lives of these characters are good models for our lives? We all face serious challenges. We all have the same opportunity to do God’s will, and to trust in His care, but we often fail to take that opportunity.

Tobit’s kinsmen were guilty of sacrificing to pagan gods, and also eating as the pagans did. Even though they were his covenant brothers and sisters, Tobit refused to follow the crowd, because, as he said “…I remembered God with all my heart.” In our world, it is very tempting to follow the crowd, even when it involves separating ourselves from people we may like.

Tobit’s incredible unselfish generosity speaks for itself, and a good part of the book emphasized that trait. The lesson for us is quite obvious.

God heard the intense prayers of both Tobit and Sarah. As a result, an angel was sent to bring relief and healing to both of them. Prayer really does work! And, there really are guardian angels, as stated in Psalm 91:11; “…For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways…”

And speaking of angels, you have probably heard it said that we may encounter angels in our lives without even realizing it. Abraham and Sara did. I often think about the beggars I see at stoplights. Is God testing our generosity? I am sure Tobit would have gladly given to such folks as that.

Now, let’s look at the importance of strong family relationships. Consider the behavior of Tobias and Sarah with regards to their parents. Both of them put their parents first. Tobias followed every command of his father without hesitation. He agreed to retrieve some money in a far-away city, even though the journey would be dangerous. He agreed to Tobit’s admonition of behavior after he and his mother’s death; to never transgress the law, to do good works, to act in truthfulness, to set aside a portion of all his belongings for almsgiving, to avoid loose conduct, and the list went on for many verses. In other words, to agree to serve God in everything he did. Sarah refused to hang herself because of the shame it would bring to her father. And both of them happily took care of their parents in their old age. Do or did we always treat our parents with the same respect and love?

Now, consider Tobias’ parents. They were sending their only child on a very long journey that could have resulted in him never returning. Remember, this was before cell phones and GPS. They worried for sure, but placed their trust in God that their son would return safely. And safely he did, dog and all, with a new wife no less. God is good. What about those parents who are listening who have already, or will soon, let their children embark on life’s journey. Do you also trust in God?

Actually, Tobit’s life was a lot like ours in many ways. He was rich, he was poor. He was healthy, he was sick. He had a happy marriage, then it was strained. Some members of his community supported him, some turned on him. Life was not exactly a bowl of cherries for him. But, isn’t this how life is? We can learn through Tobit however, not to let our hearts be troubled, but rather to have a line of communication with God, and to have complete faith in him. Maybe, as one commentator put it, when we feel like we are walking through the fires of hell, move beyond the pity-party and just keep on walking.” This sounds simplistic, but for those with faith, it makes perfect sense.

I will stop here. For those not familiar with apocryphal writings, I hope you have learned something. There are many more out there, but I think you get the idea. Books with a lesson.