October 16

Writings of the Apocrypha

When I was in college, I took a class called Literature of the Bible. The purpose of the class was to study the Bible as a piece of literature. Our professor assigned the New Jerusalem Bible as the version we would study. This was my first experience reading the books of the Apocrypha. I understand why these books are not included in the Hebrew Old Testament (see today's reading in the Daily Bible for more details.). However I was grateful for the opportunity to study them.

The book of Tobit was probably the most memorable. At one point in the story, Tobias falls in love with Sarah and wishes to marry her. But Sarah has a problem. She had been married seven times and all seven of her husbands died on the night of the wedding. Despite the fear that he may face the same end, Tobias married Sarah. On the night of their wedding, he prayed this prayer:

You are blessed, O God of our fathers;
Blessed too is your name
For ever and ever.
Let the heavens bless you
And all things you have made
For evermore.
You it was who created Adam,
You who created Eve his wife
To be his help and support;
And from these two the human race was born.
You it was who said,
"It is not right that the man should be alone;
Let us make him a helper like him."
And so I take my sister
Not for any lustful motive,
But I do in singleness of heart.
Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me.
And bring us to old age together.
~ Tobit 8:5-7

In this situation, I was impressed by Tobias' faith. He was afraid that he may die if he married Sarah. In his fear, He turned to the Lord, knowing He was the only One who could bless them with many years together.

I am looking forward to starting the New Testament this week. I pray that all of us, even those like me who have struggled with the end of the Old Testament, will see this as a fresh start and recommit themselves to the journey.