Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Because we live in a broken world our lives can take real sharp and painful turns. Who do we run to? What do we run to? Our verse states, “the righteous man runs”, this must indicate that righteous people run, they run to safety for some reason, it is something we must do all the time because of living in a broken world. Where should a righteous person run? The answer is here. Not walking, not stumbling, but on a dead run to the safety of a tower, not just any tower, but a “strong tower”, that is, “the name of the LORD”.
This verse reminded me of where our trust must be placed, “in the name of the LORD”. Why? Because His name “is a strong tower”. Tower, as in a castle tower, this is what the writer would have imagined in his day, not like a cell phone tower that looks like an erector set, set on a hill, but a stone tower built to withstand the test of time and the crushing blows of storm and siege. This reminded me of some of the castles and fortifications I saw in Europe in the Mediterranean while on liberty in the Navy. They were immense fortifications whose towers still stood after centuries of being built by man.
But here in this verse it says that “the name of the LORD is a strong tower”, a tower not built by man, not made of stone, but its structure is “the name of the LORD”. We can easily visualize what the writer is saying, a tower, not made of stone but of a name, “the name of the LORD”. This structure is significant because it tells us something of the makeup of this tower that is not made by man and is not made of stone. What is the meaning of this? The name LORD here is the familiar name Yahweh. It is the proper name of the one true God, but means more than just a proper name, the connotation of His name is much broader. His name relates to the covenant He has with His people, it is the covenant keeping name of God. We run to Yahweh spiritually speaking into the protection of His care, safe in the tower of His promised care and protection based upon His name. What stronger tower shall we run to? What greater promised hope of protection is there? What other comfort in the battering storms of life are superior?
In this text it is saying that the name of the LORD, Yahweh, is like a strong tower, or is a strong tower. There is a similarity being made between the name of the LORD and a strong tower. The tower was built strong to withstand the elements as well as attacks, it was a means of protection, people would run into it almost like a bomb shelter. The proverb is saying to people then, as it is saying to us now, “the name of the LORD” is that strong tower but one that is reinforced by the promise of His name. No standing tower of man’s construction has this kind of reinforcement. Simply ask yourself, what kind of reinforced structure have I devised and have been running into during times of the crushing blows of storm and siege. Could this be a problem in your life?
Consider what is being said, “the name of the LORD is a strong tower”, we should be running into it, “the righteous man runs into it”. Righteous people run into “a strong tower”, and they are safe. Not just any tower, but a strong tower which is “The name of the LORD”. Here the life application is clear, run into or to the LORD, who has made a covenant with His people based upon the safety of His name. Remember His name is more than just a proper name, His name relates to the covenant He has established with His people. There it is safe; there it is secure. His name is full of unbroken promise to His people. His covenant with His people is based upon and secure upon the strong integrity of His name.
What greater security is there then? Run to His name that is that “strong tower”, built upon His covenant name toward His people, that like His name never fails. Every single Bible verse of promise is a “strong tower” to run into for safety. Once in that “strong tower” you are safe, your safety is based upon the covenant name of the LORD, our faith, hope, strength, is as secure as the tower built upon His name. Lord, help us to run, not walking, or stumbling without confidence, but on a dead run, with confidence to the safety of Your name, to sprint into the safety of your covenant name that will never ever fail us, Amen!