My Strong Tower - Part 1

Photo: Tower of David and Jerusalem Walls at Night by Adiel Lo  CC by SA 3.0

My Strong Tower - Part 1

< Recommended Reading: Judges 9 >

We talk and sing of our Strong Tower, but have you ever really thought about what that means?

Let's take a look at 2 towers mentioned in Scripture to get an better understanding.

1. Tower at Shechem
Do you remember Gideon, the guy who threw out a fleece to get an answer from the Lord? God cut his army down to just 300 men against thousands of Midianites, and then, with God's help, Gideon's little band of soldiers won the victory with the cry, "The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon!" (Judges chapter 7). Remember him?

A tower plays an important role in a story about Gideon's son, Abimelech. Abimelech did not follow in his father's footsteps (see Judges 8 & 9). In fact, he really wasn't a nice guy at all.

After Gideon died, Abimelech killed 70 members of his own family, then caused Shechem to defect from Israel and set himself up as their king.  When the Shechemites rebelled against Abimelech's rule while he was out of town, he came back and fiercely attacked them. He divided his army into 3 companies. One group stood by the gate of the city and killed anyone entering or leaving and the other 2 companies killed anyone working out in the fields outside the city walls.

The rest of the inhabitants fled to "a strong tower within the city,"  shut the door and went up to the top floor (Judges 9:51). Unfortunately for the Shechemites, Abimelech decided to burn down the doors to the tower. Those who were hiding in the tower didn't survive that day, but neither did Abimelech (read the rest of the story in Judges 9).

So, from the the incident related in Judges chapter 9 that took place at the tower in Shechem, we learn that:

- a tower is regarded as a safe zone.
- a tower is a place to run to when the enemy comes.

< Questions >
1. In what ways has God protected you from the enemy?
2. In Psalm 32:7, David sings to the Lord, "Thou art my hiding place." What does that mean to you?


Go to part 2


Photo: Tower of David and Jerusalem Walls at Night by Adiel Lo    CC by SA 3.0