The Mothers Who Came to King Solomon: His Wise Decision

1 Kings 3:5-28

Some background is necessary regarding how king Solomon came to have such great wisdom.  After the death of King David, when Solomon was made King, God appeared to him in a dream one night, and said "Ask what I shall give thee." (1 Kings 3:5) We know that our God is omniscient, and knows the hearts of men, and knew what Solomon's answer would be, still  Solomon's answer was a true blessing.  "..O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in....give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (V7-9)

So much here, Solomon refers to the LORD MY God, this is a personal relationship Solomon has with the LORD.  He is humble, referring to himself as "A little child" in need of guidance and wisdom.  He asks not for silver or gold or great riches, but "an understanding heart" to judge "thy people" not his (Solomon's) people.  Truly Solomon is devoted to the LORD.  And so  the LORD is pleased and answers "I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart: so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee......" (V12)  What a wonderful gift that would be, I wonder how many of us would ask for wisdom rather than riches?

And so this is the background to the two mothers that soon come to Solomon. The bible calls them harlots, but they are not denied an audience with the king whom they stand before and begin to tell him the reason for their appearing before him.

They both live in the same house, and they both bore children, indeed three days apart they had their children, and there was no one with them, they were alone in the house.  (V17-18) And then a very sad occurrence, one mother speaks "this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.  And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. "(V19-21)



We can imagine the desperation and sadness that drove the woman who had laid on her child to exchange it for another woman's child.  And we can imagine the horror of this mother to discover a dead child in her bosom. Thankfully the next morning, when it was light, she could see that it was not her child that had died.  But now her child is in the arms of another who when confronted replied "Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son.  And this said No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son."  and back and forth it went until they went before king Solomon.  (V22)

And so what is the king to do?  how is he to discover who the real mother is?  Both mothers are very concerned about the child, both claim it is their own.  No one will mourn the dead child.  And so Solomon, in his God-given wisdom, comes up with an answer that surely struck horror into the true mother of the child. "Bring me a sword.  And they brought a sword before the king.  And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." (24-25) 

It is possible that Solomon could tell from the faces of the two women who the real mother was, his discerning heart could no doubt tell which one was telling the truth and which one was lying.  And so the test begins.  What will the real mother say?  And what will be the response of the pretender?
"Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said "O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it.  But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it."(V26)

O the love of a mother, and the wickedness of the heart of the other.  "her bowels yearned upon her son."  What grief this mother must have felt at the thought of her beloved child being cut in two.  She loves her son so much, she is willing to give him to another, so that he may live.   And what of the other one, such wickedness and jealousy in her heart that she desires to see this little baby die rather than give him back to his real mother.  Which just goes to show how much she cared for him in the first place.

So the true mother has been discovered by her own words.  And Solomon, who no doubt knew who the real mother was, but needed to hear evidence of it from her own mouth of how much she really loved her child, said "Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof." (27)

And justice was done, she who came with nothing left with her precious babe, and she who came with the baby left empty handed.   Her baby was dead, and hopefully, although the bible is silent on this subject, they stopped sharing a house too.

"And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment."(V28)

Numbers 32:23 "..........and be sure your sin will find you out"

vcg/September 2015