Tobit A Book Worth Reading

In case if there is anyone out there that doesn't know, I try to read everything I can get my hands on regarding the migrations of Israel during and after the Assyrian Captivity. I believe I have read just about every book that I can find, and that is also affordable to purchase. One such book I was reading recently is the book of Tobit which refers to a man in the history of the migrations of Israel. Tobit is a book of the Apocrapha. The books of the Apocrapha are not not recognized as Holy scriptures by Protestants, but are by Catholics. Many of these books are in Catholic Bibles between the Old Testament and the New Testament. My opinion about these books is that they are historical, rather than scriptural. If you think in a context of historical books then it could be correct. For example many Protestant Ministers have the books of Flavius Josephus in their libraries which also are not Holy Scripture, but like the book of Tobit is historical.

The book of Tobit is 14 Chapters in length and the central characters name is Tobit, who was a member of the Israelite tribe of Naphtali. All should know at this point that Naphtali was one of the first tribes taken into captivity by King Sennacherib along with the tribes of Zebulun and Dan around 745-721 B.C.. King Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, in an effort to keep the Israelites in line, killed many of them and put their bodies outside of the walls of Ninevah as a warning to all. Tobit buried the bodies that were put there by the Kings men until the King found out what he was doing and confiscated Tobit's property when he was away one day. Not to long after that, King Sennacherib was assassinated by his sons. 

Tobit went blind with cataracts and an Angel came forth with the healing information of using fish gall to cure the cataracts. I have searched this cure on the internet and there are actual cases where it has been used and it did work. I will not recommend this cure to anyone because I am not a doctor. You must research things for yourself such as medical information and biblical information.

Before Tobit's son was to find a wife, he told his son Tobiahs in Tobit 4:12: “Be on your guard, son, against every form of immorality, and above all, marry a woman of the lineage of your forefathers. Do not marry a stranger who is not of your father's tribe, because we are sons of the prophets. My boy, keep in mind Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers from the old: all of them took wives from among their own kinsmen and were blessed in their children. Remember their prosperity shall inherit the land.”

The reason I make mention that Tobit told his son to only marry an Israelite woman, is because most churches today teach that the Israelites who were taken into Assyrian Captivity married Assyrian wives, and that the nation of Israel ceased to exist. This cannot possibly be the case because of the unconditional promises made to Abraham about his descendants; Genesis 22:17-18.

Eventually Tobit's son Tobiah married a woman named Sarah which was also of the tribe of Naphtali. After restoring his fathers eyesight with the fish gall Tobit's son Tobiahs was able to retrieve his fathers wealth. Tobit eventually died and Tobiah left for another area in the mountains called Ecbatana in Media; Tobit 14:12.

The specific place Tobiah went to live is about 300 miles South of the Caucasus Mountains in modern day Western Iran. This location is significant because this puts Tobit's descendants in a position to cross the Caucasus Mountains easily when Babylon attacked Assyria in 612 B.C. This area is also verified by the first century Scribe Flavius Josephus in book 11 Chapter 5 when he wrote: “...wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.” The time frame of which he wrote of this place, in book 11, is during the time of Esdras (Ezra) and Nehemiah around 550 B.C. If one is still unsure and want to know if Israel living North of Palestine after the Assyrian invasion is Biblically correct or not for this time frame then the answer is yes, It's mentioned in Jeremiah 3:12. "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou blacksliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever." It is also worth knowing that there are places in the New Testament, hundreds of years later that refer to the Israelites as still existing such as Romans 9:3 and James 1:1 for example. Anyone that teaches that Israel does not exist today is not teaching the Bible, and I question if they are actually reading their Bible. 

There are words to warn those who refuse to teach the Bible in Jeremiah 23:1-2.

Praise the Lord for his word and his people Israel!