Strong tower

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

STRONG TOWER

Prov 18:10-11

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.

NIV

Here we have a comparison of the righteous and the foolish. The righteous are described by God as those who look to him for all safety and security. He is the sufficiency for those who put their trust in him, both for salvation and for security in this life. He is the strong tower which represent a place the enemy cannot penetrate. Although the enemy may lay siege against us, if we are in this strong tower he will never be able to scale the walls and overtake us. The wealth of the rich man is not that strong tower. Here Solomon compares the rich man as one who does not run into the name of the Lord. That would imply those who put their trust in their wealth instead of the Lord for safety and security. We would think this would be the comparison of the saved and the unsaved, however that is not always the case. It is more a comparison of those who trust in God and those who trust in wealth. This might include those in the Christian community. The idea is the rich man only imagines his wealth is unscalable, whereas the strong tower actually is. The rich man believes his wealth will provide him safety and security, but it is not safe from being overtaken by the enemy. Wealth and riches can he lost in a moment, we have no control over them and we should certainly not put any trust in them. We have been admonished not to. We have been told we cannot serve both God and money. How can we run into the name of the Lord and still imagine our wealth as a fortified city? This is not a grey area, this is black and white, either or, one or the other. We but only have to visit the tombs of the Pharaohs and emperors of China to see all their wealth left behind. It did not provide them with true safety and security. Oh, sure wealth in this life brings us the ability to have things, to feed our desires for stuff.  But God has told us that if we run into his name, the strong tower, seeking first and foremost his kingdom, he will add all these things all the stuff the rich man imagines his wealth will be to him. God does not desire we be destitute, although there may be some believers who are. We do not know the reasons, but we know running into the name of the Lord is a strong tower and it brings us safety and security. We do not have time for imaginary safety, it is a waste of our energy. Yes, we need to work for our sustenance, which is a command of God. We cannot be lazy in our life. We just saw earlier how we should do whatever we do as to onto the Lord, to work one hundred and ten percent in all our labor both in the secular world and in the community of faith. But we cannot put our trust in our work for safety and security. We cannot put our trust in something that can disappear at a moment’s notice. All this world offers, wealth is just imaginary and is not an unscalable wall. Let us keep our focus on running into the name of the Lord. That almost seems like we are running from the imaginary wall into the strong tower.