The Book Of Tobit Poem by Daniel Brick

The Book of Tobit is set in the time of Assyrian ascendency. The Assyrian warlords have dispersed the Jewish population, the better to
control them, and many including Tobit have been exiled to Nineveh.
Tobit accepts his exile as God's will. He neither complains to God to change his fate, nor does he petition God to change the
Assyrians' fate. But it is crucial to recognize Tobit's quietism does not stem from despair or loss of faith. The source of his lack of pleading is his deep humility. Humility determines all of his actions and thoughts.If a strong theme of righteous behavior qualifies a work of literature a place in scripture, The Book of Tobit fulfills it.

Tobit's humility serves him well in temporal affairs. The Assyrian authorities see in him a cooperative captive, then they become aware of his skills in administration, and finally that is a trustworthy and honest man. Tobit is engaged and promoted based on his merit. Tobit does not join their service for personal gain and certainly not prestige. He uses his high rank and the Assyrians' trust to help his suffering fellow exiles. His goal is AGAPE LOVE of his Jewish brothers and sisters. His purpose is service to God. It is important to emphasize this inner miotivation, because on the surface some might see him as a collaborator. I see in his behavior an early
example of Jesus's dictum: Render to Caesar... Render to God....

Furthermore, Tobit takes upon himself a very dasngerous mission: when he finds the corpse of a Hebrew victim of Assyrian aggression, he rescues the body, performs the ritual ablutions, and buries it with proper respect for the dead. He and his family suffer grievously when Assyrian officials are informed of his actions. Tobit is not deterred from his mission. He continues to help needy Hebrews and but murdered Hebrews.

However, because of a freak accident, he goes blind. Now his work is ended, his service necessarily suspended. How he reacts to both blindness and frustration is the moral center of this story, and it is a breathtaking account of the nexus of human goodness and divine
goodness.

Let's step back from the plot to better appreciate what the writer of Tobit has crafted in his religious narrative. The Book of Tobit is framed by two long monologues by Tobit, the first, chapter one, in prose and the second, chapter four, a hymn in ecstatic verse. In the first Tobit reveals his heart to us, a heart fully imbued with divine grace. Of course, I said that, Tobit is far too humble to tell the truth about himself. The opening sentence sums up his life: I, TOBIT, HAVE WALKED IN PATHS OF TRUTH AND IN GOOD WORKS ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE. This is neither egotism nor coy piety. I HAVE KEPT FAITH WITH MY
GOD WITH MY WHOLE HEART. When he speaks these words, he is a blind, disgraced, persecuted nobody. That is, to the secular world's eyes.
We soon learn in the story, he is none of these things.