Proverbs 18:10
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe."
We do not understand spiritual power and spiritual protection in our naturalistic days but seeking the protection of the name of the Lord is very powerful. This also means that we live inside the boundaries of that name. There is great wisdom, security, and safety by running into the area marked out by the name of the Lord.
name of the Lord
This is both that which is marked out by what God Almighty approves but also by the sheer power and protection in God's personal name. The ability to call upon Him. The name of the Lord is His character. The wealthy trust in their riches while the righteous trust in the character of the Lord. He will come through for them. He is trustworthy.
Spiritually, to run into the Name of the Lord is to cry out for His protection and His strength. When was the last time that you cried out for His help and pledged yourself to be willing to live His way?
There have been multitudes of stories of those who have cried out the Name of the Lord when they are being beaten, attacked, raped, or victimized and their attackers have fled.
But fleeing into the Name of the Lord is also fleeing into the area protected by His forces; fleeing into the city called by His Name and living out His rules.
strong tower
In the Old Testament, a strong tower was literally a tower in the midst of the city or it was the innermost fortress of the city; the most defensible aspect of the city. It was the most impregnable part of the defense of a city.
righteous
The righteous person is one who stays within the boundaries of the Ten Commandments. They, at times, even must flee into the very heart of the citadel of the Name of the Lord for protection even though they are already in the protected compound.
runs into it
The question is how do you run into something that is not physical but is spiritual and moral. We run into that which is spiritual by calling out to Him – placing ourselves under His banner, His name. We have lost our understanding of the spiritual power of this idea because we have reduced the world to only one-half of reality, but there are spiritual entities and spiritual realities.
To run into the Name of the Lord, morally, means to bring our actions into conformity to the boundaries of God.
safe
This is the Hebrew word sagab which means set on high or inaccessibly high. The idea is clearly to be put above the fray; to have the rabble of troubles be below you and be lifted above it.
There are so many times when we want to handle our problems ourselves. We don't just want to look to the Lord and cry out to Him and trust Him and proceed with doing what He has called us to do. Why?
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz