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Verse 6
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 10:6

Dimitri of Rostov

Dimitri of Rostov17th century

Once, Tobit dispatched his son, Tobiah the younger, to the city of Ragi in Midian to retrieve the borrowed silver from Gawael. However, when his son failed to return by the expected day, Tobit was filled with deep sorrow, and as the Scriptures reveal, Anna, his wife, wept bitterly, exclaiming, ‘Alas for me, my son, why did we send you on such a distant journey? O light of our eyes and staff of our old age, the comfort of our lives and the hope of our inheritance! With you alone encompassing all things, we should never have let you go!’ Unable to find solace, she wandered daily, scanning every path in hopes of catching a glimpse of him coming home. This profound, inconsolable grief, if not eternal, lasted for a significant time due to the separation from her son. Such sorrow arises from any separation of loved ones, but most poignantly from death, which signifies the soul's departure from the body and the severance from friends and all those in fellowship. Oh, the depth of anguish that mortal separation inflicts upon loving hearts! Indeed, the parting of the beloved from the lover, particularly through death, brings immense sorrow: separations among friends, siblings, and parents from their children are invariably accompanied by tears of lament. But is this how it should be? I pose this question anew, seeking guidance from the Holy Scriptures and from our Savior Himself. Our Savior, is it fitting to weep excessively when one dear to us is separated by Your divine decree through temporary death? Our Savior responds in the same way He consoled the grieving apostles: ‘Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27) .... ‘Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,’ O parents mourning the loss of young children! If you love them, rejoice instead that, by God’s will, they are being welcomed from this sorrowful existence to the Father in heaven. Though your parental affection yearns for an unbreakable bond during earthly life, such permanence is not possible here. Long for the place where eternal togetherness is achievable, but while on earth – as long as God permits. You do not lose, nor do you destroy the departed; rather, you return your child from exile to the Fatherland, from bondage to freedom, from earth to heaven, and from death to life, which may the All-Merciful God grant him to inherit, and may you, after a lengthy passage there, attain, dwelling eternally with him, the angels, and all the saints, glorifying the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.