Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Proverbs 18 Devotional

A Tower Stronger Than Wealth

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”Proverbs 18:10 (BSB)

Proverbs 18 places two fortresses side by side. The LORD's name is a high place of safety, and the righteous run to it and are protected (18:10). In the very next verse, a rich man treats his wealth as a fortified city with high walls, but those walls exist mainly in his own imagination (18:11). Both men are looking for security. Only one of them has found it.

The contrast is sharp because wealth does offer a kind of protection, and Proverbs does not deny it (10:15). But money cannot stand against what really threatens a life. The LORD's name, meaning God himself as he has made himself known, is real shelter. The surrounding sayings show how much else people lean on: their own opinions (18:2), their isolation (18:1), the first version of a story (18:17), their words (18:21). Proverbs points past all of them to a refuge entered by running, not by building. Whatever wall you have been building, the LORD's name is open to you now.

To think about: What have you been building to feel secure, and what would it look like to run to the LORD instead today?

About Proverbs 18: Words, Refuge, and Friendship

Sayings warn against self-centered isolation, fools eager to air their views, gossip, laziness, and answering before listening. The Lord's name is pictured as true refuge in contrast with trust in wealth, followed by sayings on gifts, disputes, the power of speech, a good wife, and a friend more loyal than a brother.

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