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He sat on a wobbly stool outside his small frame house, staring absentmindedly at the dusty road. Looking westwardly to the sunlit horizon, his thoughts became airborne and peacefully drifted back to his beloved Israel. Tobit wondered if he would ever return home from this land of captivity in Assyria, where he and thousands of his fellow northern kingdom citizens had been condemned to spend their prison-styled life.

He had been more fortunate than most, however, for here in the city of Nineveh his talents had attracted the attention of King Shalmaneser, who had conferred on him a position of great trust, above that given most of the natives. Tobit was the king's personal purchasing agent. The position afforded him many trips to the land of Medea to buy clothes, supplies, and trinkets for the king. There he had met and befriended a man by the name of Gabael, who lived in the city of Rages and with whom Tobit had deposited a great sum of his personal wealth.

Now the trips were no more, for the wheels of fortune had changed with the death of Shalmaneser and the coming to power of his son, Sennacherib. The new king not only terminated Tobit's trusted position but also discouraged him from doing his many charitable works, including feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and especially the one sacred act to which he was wholeheartedly dedicated, burying the dead.

Sennacherib, himself, would frequently order some of the Israeli captives to be killed to keep the rest of them in submission and in order to assert his authority. Tobit was powerless to prevent the murders, but he would find the bodies and, in defiance of the royal orders, give them a respectful burial. His actions were reported and he was labeled an instigator; the king ordered him to be put to death. Tobit immediately fled and remained in hiding. His possessions were confiscated and taken to the king's palace, leaving his wife, Anna, and his son, Tobiah, with nothing.

Not only had the wicked Sennacherib infuriated the captives, but the Assyrians also hated him. He was loathed even by his own family. He was eventually killed by his two sons, who then fled the country. Another son, Esarhaddon, became the new king. It was then that Tobit came out of hiding and returned home to be reunited with his wife and son.

Although he had been home for several weeks, sadness continued to dominate his life. Rising from his stool one evening, he walked around his home in the cool of the night, thinking of the day before. It had been the feast of Pentecost, and in thanksgiving for his blessing he had told his son, "Go out and try to find a poor man from among our kinsmen ... so he can share this meal with me." Tobiah did as his father asked but soon returned with the report that one of the Israelite captives had been strangled and his body was laying in the marketplace. Tobit immediately left his meal and buried the man, which caused the neighbors to laugh at him and question his sanity, because he was doing again the very thing that got him into trouble before.

"I must prevent our kinsmen from being killed," he told his wife that night.

"You are not a policeman," she angrily warned. "You get yourself involved and you'll be killed."

Tobit refused to listen and decided he would spend the following night in the marketplace where the murders were happening. "Don't go, Dad!" Tobiah pleaded. "We worried about you so much during your many months of exile. We want to keep you safe."

Tobit's mind was firm and his family's protests could not dissuade him. His only reply was, "I'll be all right. Don't worry about me."

The night was warm and he carried with him only a light blanket. He found a darkened spot in the marketplace near the wall of the courtyard. There in the corner he decided to settle for the night, protected by the high wall. If he would see a crime about to happen, he would jump up and shout to scare off the intruder, thereby sparing the intended victim. People were milling about, relaxing before bedtime. Some were out for a night walk and lovers were slowly strolling, arm in arm. The fresh air and the pleasant mood relaxed Tobit's tense mind, causing his vigil to be short-lived, for soon he had drifted off to sleep.

A flock of birds fluttered overhead and roosted for the night on the wall directly over Tobit's head. Unknown to Tobit, the little birds, one by one, let their "warm droppings" fall upon him. Soon the sleeping sentry had become a most undesirable sight. Still, he slept on amidst his pleasant dreams. Meanwhile, more droppings fell, some on his face and head, a few directly on his eyes. But still he did not awaken, even though his eyes began to itch and become sticky from the bombardment by the dirty little birds of Nineveh.

With the breaking of dawn, Tobit thought he had acquired a serious case of conjunctivitis, for he was unable to unseal his lids. The disgusting aroma, however, soon told him it was not conjunctivitis. He angrily jumped to his feet and cursed. The frightened birds fluttered off into the early morning. The film on Tobit's eyes made the day appear shrouded in heavy fog.

He immediately consulted his puzzled family doctor, who had never before treated a case of bird droppings. Nineveh's only ophthalmologist was called into the case. He soon diagnosed Tobit's condition as rapidly developing cataracts. The doctor anointed both eyes to soothe the severe burning sensation, but added the comment as Tobit left his office, "I'm afraid, my friend, your eyes are permanently 'fowled-up.' " Within three days, Tobit was totally blind.

First, he had lost his homeland, then his job. Now he had lost his eyesight. He was left terribly puzzled, for he had always tried to serve God with honor. Why did this happen to me? he wondered, stumbling about in his world of darkness. In his depression, he prayed, "It is better for me to die than to endure so much misery in life...."

Again he prayed to his God. He asked God not to take his petitions to die seriously until he was able to obtain his money for his wife and son from the land of Medea. Tobit called his son and requested that he prepare to travel to the city of Rages and contact his friend, Gabael, for his money. To accompany him, Tobiah sought out a trustworthy man who was to show him the way and be a traveling companion. The one selected was none other than the archangel Raphael who had been sent from heaven for that purpose. The archangel was disguised as an ordinary human being and no one, not even Tobiah, knew the difference, since Raphael had introduced himself as Azariah.

One day, while on their way to the land of Medea, Tobiah was washing his feet in the Tigris River and a giant fish leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. Tobiah killed the big fish and, at Azariah's command, saved its gall, liver, and heart for medicine.

Before reaching Rages, they stopped at the city of Ecbatana, where Tobiah met Sarah, a most beautiful woman. Although previously married (seven times!), all her husbands had mysteriously died on their wedding night. The cause of their deaths was blamed on the demon, Asmodeus. Tobiah wanted to marry her but was terrified because of her pathetic track record, which he intently discussed with his companion.

Azariah replied, "No problem." He told Tobiah, "Before you make love on your wedding night, place a piece of fish liver on the hot grate of the fireplace and the fumes will drive away the demon."

The marriage took place and Tobiah followed his orders. It worked -- although the stench nearly drove away his bride as well as the demon. To celebrate their marriage, and especially Tobiah's survival of the first night, the bride's parents gave an elaborate reception that lasted two weeks.

Azariah had gone on alone to meet Gabael. The two returned with the money to a roaring wedding reception. Finally, Tobiah announced he would have to return home. But everyone was having such a gloriously good time they didn't want the party to come to an end.

Meanwhile, back in Nineveh, Tobit was wondering why his son had not returned and Anna was sure there had been an accident or foul play. She cried and complained day and night, screaming, "My son is dead!" Then she would sit on the porch watching for his return. She was neither eating nor sleeping, but rather wasting away to misery. Tobit continued to be depressed as he struggled to accept his blindness. He refused to meet anyone, for the first question a stranger would always ask was, "What happened to your eyes?" How could he ever fully explain it? He prayed fervently to God each day for a cure and periodically cursed the birds.

One day Anna came running into the house, banging the door and startling her dozing husband. "They're home! They're coming up the road."

Frightened, he stumbled to his feet, "What, what's the trouble?"

"Tobiah and the man who accompanied him are coming up the road!" Her shout trailed off as she dashed from the house and down the road to meet them. Tobiah and his mother kissed and embraced several times as Azariah looked on. Then Tobiah saw his father groping his way through the garden gate. He ran to meet him, holding the fish gall in his hand.

Azariah had assured him the juice of the gall would undo what the bird droppings had done. "Courage, Dad," said Tobiah, as he steadied his father's shaking head and applied the gall directly to his deep-set eyes.

"Ouch, what are you doing?"

"Just helping you, Dad; now hold still." He applied another generous portion to each eye. "Put your head back and look toward the sky."

Old Tobit hesitated, remembering how that posture had caused the problem four years ago. "That stuff smells like rotten fish. Good God, what is it, son?"

Tobiah was too occupied to answer. In fact, he didn't hear the question, for he was peeling a thick gum-like scum from both eyes.

"I can see you, son," Tobit shouted with uncontrollable joy. He threw his arms around his son. "Blessed be God!" cried out old Tobit, "and blessings be his great name! And blessed be all his holy angels." Arm in arm they skipped to the house like two children, singing and rejoicing and praising God.

"I married a beautiful woman while I was gone," Tobiah finally confessed to his jubilant father. "There she comes now," he pointed down the road. "She's with some of her relatives who returned with us." Tobit and Anna joyfully met Sarah. They were proud to know their posterity would continue through this young and beautiful woman whom they immediately embraced as their daughter.

That very evening, another wedding reception began in Nineveh, the second for Tobiah and Sarah. It lasted for seven days.

For this most elegant party, the family generously spent a portion of the money that Tobiah and Azariah had brought back with them. Many of the pagan Assyrians attended the celebration and were truly amazed that Tobit's sight had been restored. He now proudly told everyone how the birds had nearly "done him in," but the fish gave him new life.

Azariah was present for the gala festivities and ate, drank, and danced late into the seven glorious nights. When life began to return to normal, he announced his intention to "move on." Father and son had agreed to give him, as his pay and as a bonus reward for his directions and excellent advice, one-half of all the money they had brought back.

It was then that Azariah revealed his true identity and correct name. "I am Raphael," he told them. "I am one of God's chosen angels, serving directly in God's central court." They were both terrified and fell to the ground, but he touched their heads, assuring them they had nothing to fear. He would accept no pay for his mission, which had been ordered by God, himself. He then counseled them "to continue to thank God every day and praise him with song." With that, Raphael returned to heaven and "they kept thanking God and singing his praises."

If you sleep in the open,
Near a barn or a church,
Just be sure you're not sitting
Where the birds come to perch.

For these fine-feathered creatures
Don't care who's down below;
When they hear nature calling
They just let it all go.

Here's the good word from Tobit,
Sent along with his love:
Not all things are a blessing
That come down from above!

Read Tobit 1-12