Good Morning Friends,
God granted Solomon’s request and gave him
great wisdom. The very next story in 1 Kings 3 demonstrates how that wisdom was
put to the test!
Two women came to Solomon, both claiming that
the baby boy they brought with them belonged to her. The baby son of one of the
women had died and neither wanted to believe that the dead baby was her own. In
claiming the live baby was hers, one woman was lying and the other only trying
to protect her own child. “One woman said, ‘The living one is my son; the dead
one is yours.’ But the first one
insisted, ‘No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.’ And so they
argued before the king.” (1 Kings 3:22)
Of course, this was way before DNA testing
could be done to determine the actual parentage of the child. Looks alone would
not be enough to prove which woman was the mother of the baby boy. God’s wisdom
would be required for Solomon to be able to discern the truth.
“The king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they
brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: ‘Cut the living child in
two and give half to one and half to the other.’ (1 Kings 3:25)
Solomon’s command seemed like a gruesome
decision. Instead, it turned out to be God’s wisdom for revealing the hearts of
the two women.
“The woman whose son was alive was filled with
compassion for her son and said to the king, ‘Please, my lord, give her the
living baby! Don’t kill him!’ But the other said, ‘Neither I nor you shall have
him. Cut him in two!’ Then the king gave his ruling: ‘Give the living baby to
the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.’” (1 Kings 3:26-27)
It was an illustration of great wisdom … a gift
from God. It is an illustration of true love. True love wants what is best for
the one loved, even though it requires sacrifice from you. The real mother was
willing to sacrifice her own joy of parenting and allow the other woman to
raise her son if that’s what it took to save his life.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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