A Mother's Sacrifice

Mothers Day Dr. Mike Fogerson May 13, 2012

Introduction

A Happy Mother’s Day! Of course should celebrate moms more often, Let’s face it, mothers do a lot for us they have a special place:

1 Perhaps their greatest contribution is The things moms teach us

a About RECEIVING: "You are going to get it when we get home!"

About LOGIC: "Because I said so, that’s why."

MEDICAL SCIENCE: "Stop crossing eyes they’ll freeze that way."

RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

GENETICS: "You’re just like your father." "were born in a barn?"

JUSTICE: "When you have kids, I hope they turn out just like you.”

TIME TRAVEL: "If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

b FORESIGHT: "Always wear clean underwear, In case you’re in an accident."

CONTORTIONISM: "Will you look at dirt on back of your neck!"

WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Millions starving in China you

won’t eat your peas!"

DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE: & "If you fall out of that tree & break your neck, don’t come crying to me”

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

2 Moms are pretty complex, I’ve never been one so I am no authority which is why I must lean on Bible open God’s word to see how it applies to us today.

B 16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.17 The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.18 "It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.19 "This woman's son died in the night, because she lay on it.20 "So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.21 "When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne."22 Then the other woman said, "No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." But the first woman said, "No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." Thus they spoke before the king.23 Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one'; and the other says, 'No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.' "24 The king said, "Get me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king.25 The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other."26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!"27 Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. 1 Kings 3:16-28 (NASB)

1 We often see only the lesson of the wisdom of Solomon in this classic passage while neglecting the rest of the story.

a The main thing we see is that God had supernaturally given Solomon wisdom. (Proves that wisdom comes from God)

b There is another lesson hidden just under the surface: we find that this account provides truths of motherhood from the most unlikely of mothers.

2 Pray

I Every mom makes mistakes (no perfect mothers)

A The two mothers in our test were sex trade workers: prostitutes

1 Although prostitution was disdained / condemned in Ancient Israel, it was tolerated.

a A prostitute was generally a slave who had owner / pimp

aa Or a couple would sell their daughter to be used into the sex trade

bb Or a woman who never had an opportunity to marry or had lost her husband and was left without support.

b Prostitutes were the most pitied of victims in a society that failed to care for the helpless & poor.