Thoughts for the Day

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run into it and are safe.
The wealth of the rich is their strong city;
in their imagination it is like a high wall.
Before destruction one’s heart is haughty,
but humility goes before honour.

The human spirit will endure sickness;
but a broken spirit—who can bear?
An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The Hebrew tribes spent 40 years in the desert before moving into the Promised land. We often think of a desert as a vast area of sand, but of course places like the Judean wilderness are composed of rocky hills and mountains. As we can see from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37) though, such barren places were often the hideout of robbers and bandits. So once the people are settled in Canaan it's no wonder that they think of a tower or a fortress as being a place of safety - somewhere they can remain secure from those who want to attack them.

In the Book of Psalms we quite often find mention of "a strong tower" or "a strong fortress". These words are frequently applied not just to an actual tower or fortress, but to God Himself. He can protect His people, for He is like a strong tower or a strong fortress (see Psalm 59.16-17 and Psalm 18.2 as examples). In a land that is inherently unsafe fortresses were deemed to give protection, as was God who had delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh.

In Proverbs Chapter 18, though we get something slightly different. For a start we get the only place in the book where God's actual name of 'Yahweh', is used, and where Solomon declares that "the name of the Lord" is a strong tower. He does not use the name 'Yahweh' as a magical charm, like a magician saying "Abracadabra!". We have seen before, a name defines all that the person is and all that he stands for - in this case God's strength, His love, His mercy and His righteousness. The prophet Joel wrote "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Joel 2.32). No wonder Solomon sees God as the ultimate protection from all that is evil.

Lord God Almighty,
You are our strong tower,
our everlasting protection,
who of Your great mercy,
sent Your Son to save us.
May we learn to turn to You
in times of joy and woe,
for out of Your love for us
You offer us mercy and salvation.
Amen.