Context No. 2688 of 4322 · Tobit

Tobit 5:6-10: in context

6The angel said to him, “I will go with you. I know the way well. I have lodged with our brother Gabael.” 7Tobias said to him, “Wait for me, and I will tell my father.” 8He said to him, “Go, and don’t wait. And he went in and said to his father, “Behold, I have found someone who will go with me.” But he said, “Call him to me, that I may know of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trustworthy man to go with you.” 9So he called him, and he came in, and they saluted one another. 10And Tobit said to him, “Brother, of what tribe and of what family are you? Tell me.”

Young Tobias is about to set out on a long and risky journey, and his father wants a trustworthy guide. A stranger steps forward and offers to go with him, saying he knows the road well and has lodged with their kinsman. The reader knows what the family does not: this traveler is the angel Raphael, sent in answer to their prayers.

Tobit, careful as any father, calls the man in and asks his tribe and family before he will trust his son to him. That caution is not wrong. But notice the gap between what they can see and what is really happening. The help they begged God for is already standing in the room, dressed as an ordinary man on the road. God's answer had arrived before they finished vetting it.

When help comes to me in plain clothes, do I recognize it as God's answer, or only test it for its credentials?

Sources

Tobit 5:4: "He went to look for a man, and he found Raphael, who was an angel; but he didn't know it."
Hebrews 13:2: "Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Psalm 91:11: "For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways."