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Verse 3
Theosis · English Bible
Tobit

Tobit 10

Old TestamentTheosis · English Bible

1Now Tobit his father counted every day: and when the days of the journey were expired, and they came not, 2then Tobit said, Are they detained? or is Gabael dead, and there is no man to give him the money? 3Therefore he was very sorry. 4Then his wife said unto him, My son is dead, seeing he stayeth long; and she began to bewail him, and said, 5Now I care for nothing, my son, since I have let thee go, the light of mine eyes. 6To whom Tobit said, Hold thy peace, take no care, for he is safe. 7But she said, Hold thy peace, and deceive me not; my son is dead. And she went out every day into the way which they went, and did eat no meat in the daytime, and ceased not whole nights to bewail her son Tobias, until the fourteen days of the wedding were expired, which Raguel had sworn that he should spend there. Then Tobias said to Raguel, 8Let me go, for my father and my mother look no more to see me. 9But his father in law said unto him, Tarry with me, and I will send to thy father, and they shall declare unto him how things go with thee. 10But Tobias said, No; but let me go to my father. 11Then Raguel arose, and gave him Sara his wife, and half his goods, servants, and cattle, and money: 12and he blessed them, and sent them away, saying, The God of heaven give you a prosperous journey, my children. 13And he said to his daughter, Honour thy father and thy mother in law, which are now thy parents, that I may hear good report of thee. And he kissed her. Edna also said to Tobias, The Lord of heaven restore thee, my dear brother, and grant that I may see thy children of my daughter Sara before I die, that I may rejoice before the Lord: behold, I commit my daughter unto thee, of special trust; wherefore do not entreat her evil.

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Tobit 10:3

Dimitri of Rostov

Dimitri of Rostov17th century

Tobit once sent his son Tobiah the younger to the Midian city of Ragi to retrieve the silver he had borrowed. When Tobiah did not return on the expected day, Tobit was filled with deep sorrow, and as the scriptures recount, Anna, his wife, wept uncontrollably, lamenting, “Alas for me, my son, why did we send you on such a long journey? O light of our eyes and the staff of our old age, the solace of our life and the hope of our inheritance! We had everything in you alone, and we should not have let you go!” Finding no comfort, she walked each day, searching all the paths in hopes of seeing him return. Such profound and overwhelming grief was brought upon the loving mother by the loss of her son. This feeling is akin to the sorrow felt during the separation of beloved souls, especially that caused by death, which signifies nothing more than the parting of the soul from the body, from friends, and from all those in fellowship. Mortal separation brings much anguish to those who love one another. Indeed, the distance between the beloved and the lover, and particularly the severance by death, instills an immense sorrow among people: the estrangement of friends from friends, of siblings from siblings, and of children from parents is inevitably accompanied by tears and deep mourning. But should it truly be this way? I raise this question with renewed grace and seek comfort in the Holy Scriptures, turning to our Savior Himself for answers. Our Savior, I ask, is it fitting to mourn excessively when one we cherish is taken from us by the fleeting nature of death, as ordained by Your will? He replies with the same gentle reassurance He offered to His sorrowful disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27) .... “Let not your heart be troubled, nor be afraid,” you grieving parents who lose your young children! If you truly love them, rejoice that, according to God's design, they are ascending from this painful existence to the Father in heaven. If your parental love longs for an unbreakable bond with them, know that such a union cannot exist in this life. Yearn for it where eternal togetherness is possible; on earth, however, you are bound for a time as long as God wills it. You do not lose or destroy the departed; rather, you guide your child from exile to the Land of Promise, from captivity to freedom, from the earthly realm to the heavenly, from death to life. May the All-Merciful God grant him this eternal reward and allow you, after your time here, to be united with him, along with the angels and all the saints, praising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen.