The discerner (1 Kings 3:16–28)

God’s chosen leaders can’t always remain on the heights of spiritual glory but must take that glory and blessing with them into the place of duty and service. Jesus left the Mount of Transfiguration for the valley of conflict (Matt. 17:1–21), and Paul had to carry on earth the pain of a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:1–10). Solomon had been worshiping at Gibeon and Jerusalem, but now he has returned to the responsibilities of the throne.

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. 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.

I. Solomon did as David did.

Solomon gave the common people access to the king.

God had given Solomon a special gift of wisdom and now he could put it to use. He had stood before the Ark, the throne of God, and now his people could stand before his throne and seek help. In Israel, the king was the ultimate judge of the land and any citizen, even prostitutes could petition him.

For Solomon to receive two prostitutes at his throne was certainly an act of condescension. Like Jesus, he welcomed “publicans and sinners” (Luke 15:1–2), except that Jesus did more than solve their problems: He changed their hearts and forgave their sins. In every way, Jesus is “greater than Solomon”.

II. Prostitution seemed to be tolerated in Israel.

The Law of Moses laid down some severe restrictions and punishments.

The The Book of Proverbs warned young men about the wiles of the harlot (“the strange woman”) and Paul instructed believers to avoid prostitutes (1 Cor. 6:15–16).

These two women lived together with other prostitutes in a brothel, they became pregnant about the same time and both delivered babies. One can’t help but feel sorry for the little ones who came into the world in such a place, without fathers to provide for them and protect them. But the kind of men who would visit prostitutes might not be the best fathers!

III. Why go to the King and not the courts?

Since there were no witnesses to the birth of the two babies or the death of the one, the case couldn’t be tried in the courts in the normal way.

It would be one woman’s word against the word of the other, even though it was obvious that one of the women was a liar. Using the divine wisdom God gave him, Solomon bypassed the word of the women and went right to their hearts, for the heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.

By suggesting that they “divide the baby” between them, Solomon revealed the heart of the true mother and gave her baby to her. We aren’t told what he did with the mother who had lied and stolen (kidnapped) the baby. We trust that the true mother abandoned her sinful ways and raised her son in the ways of the Lord.

Solomon has the insight to see the difference between just and unjust persons even when he has no corroborating evidence. When this verdict becomes public knowledge, the nation was in awe of (lit., “feared”) the king. This comment reinforces the statement in 2:46 that the “kingdom is now firmly established in Solomon’s hands.” Most importantly, this respect stems from the knowledge that wisdom like Solomon’s can come only from God. Israel now understands, as does the reader, that “the wisdom of God is in his heart to do justice.” If so, the nation will flourish under his leadership.