Today, the word to describe God is STRONGHOLD. The dictionary describes this as a place that has been fortified to protect it against attack or a place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld. That definition says that being “in Christ” who is the Word of God is being in a stronghold and being filled with the written Word of God is also being in a stronghold.
The OT speaks of strongholds like Edinburgh castle, literal structures where God’s people could hide against their enemies. Jerusalem, also called Zion, was one of them. While David hid in this and other many places, he realized his true protection and said in 2 Samuel 22:2–4:
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”
In several ways, the psalms declare the same truth. Psalm 9:9 says, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
Psalm 27:1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 37:39. “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.”
Psalm 94:21–22. “They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”
The prophets also recognized the Lord as a refuge for His people:
Isaiah 25:4. “For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.”
Jeremiah 16:19. “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.”
Joel 3:16. “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”
The NT does not use this word. The closest it comes is comparing two mountains; one is Sinai where the Law was given, the other is Zion representing the new covenant initiated by the blood of Christ:
Hebrews 12:22–24. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
In relation to stronghold, fleeing to Jesus for salvation is ‘better’ than any fortress — whether people consider keeping the Law will protect them, or doing their own thing is ‘good enough’ to preserve them from the enemies of sin and death. The NT says that those who trust Christ alone for their salvation are “in Christ” and that makes Him our stronghold and refuge against all foes.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Being in Christ and being in the written Word of God are strongholds for me and for all God’s people. Jesus protects us, warns us, helps us in our spiritual battles as well as in the trials of life. The Word of God strongly defends our faith in Him. Christians who neglect to read and study it can be sitting ducks for the enemy were it not for a loving Savior who often protects us — even in our ignorance! However, being in Christ and in His Word turns life into an enlightened adventure, a far better choice than any other place of refuge!
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