Gtcotr/ss100718
1 Kings 3 NKJV
16 ¶ Now two women who
were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.
17 And one woman said, “O my
lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was
in the house.
18 “Then it happened, the
third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were
together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the
house.
19 “And this woman’s son died
in the night, because she lay on him.
20 “So she arose in the
middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept,
and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 “And when I rose in the
morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the
morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
22 Then the other woman said,
“No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.”
And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the
living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
A
few things to note here before we continue.
·
The
Bible is not just a history book detailing the lives of others, but it is a
roadmap for our lives.
·
In
order for us to get the full scope of this account, it must be viewed in light
of both context and culture.
o Try and put yourself
in the times and in the place of this story.
o Look around for the
obvious and ask yourself a few questions.
·
How
did these two ladies gain audience with the King? Why was he hearing this case?
o King Solomon was
certainly not the first one to hear the testimonies of these two women.
o Throughout history
fair-minded governments have offered avenues of appeal. In this case and
culture, going before the King was the
last appeal and his judgement was final.
o No doubt all eyes
were on this case and it was much noted among the politicians and the common folk
alike.
o High profile cases
often polarize people and we can well imagine everyone had their own opinion.
o Without divine
intervention, any decision King Solomon made was apt to divide his kingdom and
lose much needed support.
·
As
well, some scholars have suggested these women weren’t really harlots but
rather they were inn keepers or food servers or some more common trade workers.
This is simply not the case.
o First let’s look at
the facts:
§ These were two
women, both absent of husbands to make or support their case alongside them.
§ They evidently lived
together and shared a house together where no one else lived.
§ They had both gotten
pregnant within a few days of each other and gave birth alone together in the
house.
§ The fact there was
no midwife speaks of the state of poverty one might expect from a harlot out of
work due to the late stages of pregnancy.
o Also, we see a
parallel between King Solomon’s display of divine wisdom and that of Jesus in
the Gospel of John chapter 8. Both the Old and New Testaments tell the same
stories.
§ Jesus was confronted
by those who had legal right to judge such cases of adultery.
§ The adulterous woman
was brought before Jesus as the Supreme Judge.
§ All eyes were on
Jesus, just as all eyes were on King Solomon that day.
·
Furthermore,
the Hebrew word translated “harlot” in this verse and 82 times in the OT = play
the harlot, go a whoring, be a prostitute.
·
Lastly,
this is a picture showing that all people, regardless of age, stage or
situation of life, deserve a hearing and should be afforded the same protection
under the law. This is also the heart of
God and a picture of His divine justice for all mankind.
o Both Jesus and King
Solomon heard the case before attempting to render their verdict.
§ Solomon would later
write in his book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 18:13 He who answers
a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.
§ We all do well to
hear a matter before we answer. Being swift to hear and slow to speak is wisdom
in action.
§ What does it hurt to
fully hear a matter before we decide on our opinion?
§ Even a fool is
thought to be wise when he holds his tongue and reserves judgment. (Proverbs
17:28)
Now,
let’s get to the meat of this morning’s word. In verse 23, King Solomon
repeated the matter to insure he and all who were listening understood the
gravity of the argument.
1 Kings 3
23 And the king said, “The
one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead
one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is
the living one.’ ”
24 Then the king said, “Bring
me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, “Divide
the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was
living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she
said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the
other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
27 So the king answered and
said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is
his mother.”
28 And all Israel heard of
the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they
saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
This
divine judgment caused everyone to see and agree with the King. I wonder what
happened to the other woman? Maybe she repented …
Those
who call for a sword to divide the baby are heartless and without the love of
God. God says, “Mark those who cause division among you.”
You
see, this story is not really about the wisdom of Solomon but rather about the
love of mother for her child. Love will always choose
life.
When
your hurt makes you lose perspective and you find yourself wanting to hurt
others, don’t’ call for the sword - think
again, and choose life!
