Kingdom Character-5 Series

KINGDOM CHARACTER-V—1Kings 3:16-28

AKA—Motherhood Potential(Mother’s Day)

Is God leading you or has the devil been allowed access to your world because of the way in which you approach your potential? Do you have character that is fit for God’s Kingdom?

Remember our Background/Context:

YaHWeH had approached Solomon “in a dream by night” saying, “Ask! What shall I give you?”(:5).

King Solomon recognized his own inability to rule properly because he saw himself as “a little child” who did not even know how to go out or come in”(:7). On top of that, he was also taken with & humbled by the sheer numbers of God’s people. Also tied into this was an understanding that Solomon’s charge was to lead God’s chosen people(:8). The expectations/responsibilities upon Solomon were great & he felt their weight.

Therefore in answer to God’s question, Solomon requested “wisdom” from the LORD. Solomon knew he needed “an understanding heart to judge” YaHWeH’s people, that he might be able to “discern between good & evil”(:9). He was concerned that he be able to “judge” the people of God wisely & with equity.

Solomon’s desire “pleased” God(:10) so that He responded by giving Solomon the “understanding”he had asked for along with the personal things he had not considered important—long life, riches, & the life of his enemies(:11-14).

The result & proof of God’s bestowing His wisdom upon Solomon was immediately manifested to everyone as follows in our text(:16-28).....

The events surrounding one of Solomon’s official judgments revealed the motherly potential of a harlot.

A person’s character reveals their potential as a servant of God, their fitness for the kingdom of God &/or their citizenship in God’s kingdom.

How is Kingdom character manifested?

Some ways in which Kingdom character is manifested.

Attention:

True to Form:

A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Valentine's Day.

A friend of his said, "I thought she always wanted a Jeep wrangler."

"She did," he replied. "But where in the world was I going to find a fake Jeep?!!”

We’ve found previously that...

Kingdom Character(or the lack thereof) is manifested in one’s approach to...

1. PERSONAL SIN(:16)

2. TRAGEDY(:17-21)

3. TRUTH(:16-22)

4. JUSTICE(:16-22)

5. OPPOSITION(:22)

6. RESOLUTION(:23-25)

7—Kingdom character is manifested in one’s Approach to...

VALUE-Compassion(:26)

Explanation:(:26)Inestimable/Human value

:26—“Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; & she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, & by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

One of the “harlot’s” had a mother’s heart. She genuinely cared for the child in question.

In the mother’s eyes, the king of Israel was going to take her own child’s life. Her heart was wrenched & torn apart not knowing how to effect a rescue of this her innocent child’s life!

“& she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, & by no means kill him!”

For the sake of her child’s very life, the son’s mother was willing to allow the lying, uncaring, heartless, prostitute all future care of her son. Her son did not deserve to die. And he would not, if she could only compose herself enough to let go of her ‘right’ to her son.

Life begins at conception. All human life holds inestimable value in God’s eyes or He would not have made us. He certainly would not have made us in His own image(Gen. 1:26-28).

“But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

The “woman” whose son had died was entirely heartless & selfish. She was ‘sold out’ to the lifestyle of her harlotry. Perhaps she wanted to be freed from supposition & accusation as a murderer. Regardless, she placed no value in the “living” son’s life! She was so consumed with self, that she thought nothing of one who was helpless...& one whose very life hung on ‘her mercy.’ She was the kind of woman who heartlessly laughs when others suffer or face tragedy.

She was an utterly ‘envious’ woman—Not wanting her roommate to have something which she did not herself possess.[Jealousy(negatively) is not wanting others to have what you have.] But remember on a positive note, that God is jealous for His people.(Ex. 34:14; Josh. 24:19).

How much more perverse it was for her to coldly focus & levy/impose such destructive envy upon one so innocent & helpless as an infant!

“Yearned/Deeply Stirred”—rmk kaw-mar’—Niphal(passive/reflexive) Perfect—1) To yearn, be kindled, be black(hot), grow warm & tender, be or grow hot, become hot, become emotionally agitated—1a) (Niphal)—1a1) To grow warm & tender, 1a2) To be or grow hot. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To intertwine or contract, i.e. by implication--To shrivel(as with heat); figuratively--To be deeply affected with passion(love or pity). Used 4X.