Scripture Introduction
We owe much to our mothers, including life itself. But for all they give and give, perhaps their greatest contribution is the things moms teach us:
• They teach us about receiving: “You are going to get it when we get home!”
• About logic, “Because I said so, that’s why.”
• Medical facts: “Stop crossing your eyes; they will freeze that way.”
• Religious devotion: “You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
• Obstetrics: “Were born in a barn?”
• Time travel: “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
• Preparation: “Always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.”
• Contortionism: “Will you look at dirt on back of your neck!”
• The reality of the Resurrection: “If you fall out of that tree and break your neck, don’t come crying to me.”
Those are fun and silly and hopefully give you a bit of a chuckle as we hear the true story of two mothers who made a mess of their lives and needed a gift of God’s grace and mercy.
[Read 1Kings 3.16-28. Pray.]
Introduction
Both the Bible and church history witness to the significance of mothers in the lives of faithful believers. For example, in 2Timothy 1.5, Paul tells his young apprentice: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
The fifth commandment requires that we honor our mothers as well as our fathers, a surprise demand delivered into a patriarchal society. The Proverbs, likewise, remind us that children are to please their mothers and give them joy as they labor to teach and raise them to love the Lord. And the New Testament makes clear that parents are to be obeyed and honored, not simply fathers.
God shows us how important mothers are in the kingdom as Hannah devotes her son, Samuel, to the Lord’s service. And Elizabeth not only gave birth to John the Baptist, but also was a New Testament prophet. And though we condemn the Catholic dogmas concerning worship of Mary and her sinless life as both unbiblical and offensive to God, we nevertheless recognize her as a paradigm of a godly woman and faithful mother.
Maybe the greatest honor paid women, however, is the way in which God compares his own ministry to that of a mother. Isaiah 66.13: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Augustine was probably the greatest Bible scholar the church has ever known. Apparently his mother, Monica, prayed for her son to become a Christian for years. When he was determined to travel to Rome she prayed earnestly that God would keep him by her side, and under her influence. She went down to a little chapel on the seashore to spend the night in prayer close by where the ship lay at anchor. But, when morning came, she found that the ship had sailed even while she prayed! But though the answer to that prayer was no, her true desire was granted. For it was in Rome that Augustine met the sainted Ambrose, who led him to Christ. God’s wisdom displayed in the devotion of a mother.
In contrast to those stirring examples, 1Kings 3 is not so obviously a great Mother’s Day passage! It does tell the story of a loving mother; mainly however, it tells us about God and ourselves and the wise and coming judge, Jesus.
1. Because of a Catastrophic Fall, We Seek God’s Wisdom
The first words shock us: “Now two prostitutes….” Are these the opening lines in a Bible story or a tawdry and tacky novel? Isn’t this inappropriate for a holy book?
But life is not all clean and neat. Real people have serious problems living in a fallen world, and God does not pretend otherwise. His word is not something we read and believe and act on when we are in a monastery, separate from sin and trouble. His answers work in the mess; his wisdom applies down in the mud.
On Friday we had the spring meeting of the Ohio Valley Presbytery. That is when churches of our denomination which are in this general geographic area gather to do the work we must do together. One of the things we did Friday was examine a young man who believes God is calling him to be a pastor. During the exam he was asked to explain and defend from the Bible the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. He did fine; he noted that the Bible contains everything we need to live faithful and pleasing to God. And he cited 2Timothy 3.16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Not some good works, but all of them. 2Peter 1.3 says something similar: God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence….”
What is the point? Simply this: God’s word and wisdom are sufficient for life and good works here and now, in our messes. And this event in the life of Solomon overflows with reminders of the tragedy of life outside Eden.
First of all, these are prostitutes. We do not know what led to sell their bodies into this form of slavery and debasement, but we grieve that a woman created in the image of God is reduced to an object used and discarded. This is not the way it is supposed to be.
Second, there are no prostitutes without men who purchase them. For all the successes and fame of Lawrence Taylor, it appears he will end up punished for solicitation. The world is bent; the problems are real; the fall is not a figment of prudish imagination. At breakfast earlier this week I commented that the Gulf oil spill will likely be the greatest man-made disaster ever. Daniel corrected me—no, the Fall was. He is absolutely right. Desperate women should be nurtured and protected and provided for; not misused, violated, exploited—then left to give birth and raise children alone.
Third, we see the effects of sin spread to one of these mothers, now willing to lie, cheat, steal, and perjure herself before the king. Then in the culminating act of hatred and depravity, she would see her roommate’s child butchered rather than her deceit be exposed. This is sad.
One way of reading this story that is less disturbing is to imagine that the mother whose child is alive is the good one and the other bad. But nothing here supports that interpretation. Both women are sinners. Mistreated by society, yes, but also guilty of their own rebellion. And this story is here because we will have times when we wonder, is there wisdom enough to take us through the messes we make.
I see this all the time in counseling. Almost universally, people come to the pastor when they desperate. As they share their story, the fog rolls in, all light appears eclipsed, and the couple clearly doubts there is a sun bright enough to burn away the clouds. They wonder how any wisdom could help them. But this passage proves that God is not blinded by the darkness of a sin-soaked world. His word and wisdom is a bright and burning beacon. Because of the catastrophic effects of the fall, the way out is darkened. Therefore we must seek God’s wisdom.
2. Because of Common Grace, We Seek God’s Wisdom
These women were sinners; what they did displeased God. More than that, even, they were victims—sinned against, abused, mistreated, debased. They were scorned by society and despised by the reputable women of the city—in a word, they are outcasts. When Jesus wanted the greatest insult for the religiously self-righteous he said, “Truly, I say to you, the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” Nothing about these women appeals to the public.
In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo responds to news of Gollum by crying out: “What a pity Bilbo did not stab the vile creature, when he had a chance!”
Gandalf says, “Pity! It was Pity that stayed his hand, and Mercy: not to strike without need.”
Frodo: “I do not feel any pity for Gollum…. He deserves death.”
Gandalf: “Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.”
We could agree with Frodo: these women deserve death—they broke God’s law. But God gives them better—they argue their case before the Supreme Court of Israel. This reminds me of Jesus’ shocking application of the law of love: Matthew 5.43-45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
God’s mercy stays his hand in this trial, so they find justice in the complaint without the judgment they deserve, allowing them to live as good as possible in this fallen world.
There is more, though: observe the love which the aggrieved mother demonstrates: she would rather give up her child to this hateful enemy than see him die. That love is not learned from evolutionary survival of the fittest. Here is the kindness and mercy of God which he built into the world, so that a mother loves her child even to the point of self-sacrifice.
Frederick Douglass wrote in his autobiography: “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age…. I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night. She was hired by a Mr. Stewart, who lived about twelve miles from my home. She made her journeys to see me in the night, travelling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day’s work. She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise, unless a slave has special permission from his or her master to the contrary—a permission which they seldom get…. I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone” (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, 1845, p. 2).
It is God’s grace, commonly scattered across the world, which prevents the complete devastation and annihilation that would come should he remove his staying hand. We seek God’s wisdom because we see how wonderful is his common grace.
3. Because of a Compassionate Justice, We Seek God’s Wisdom
The last verse of this chapter is the key one: “All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.”
In The Sound of Music, the exasperated nuns sing, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” In a similar way, everyone in Israel sang, “How do you solve a problem like this?” Who can answer the riddle? They were alone at night when the baby died. Neither has the character or reputation to convince us of their truthfulness. We are stymied.
But earlier, King Solomon humbled himself before God and asked, not for treasure or victory or long life, but for wisdom to rule well.
1 Kings 3.5: At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
1 Kings 3.7: And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in….
1 Kings 3.9: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil….
1 Kings 3.11-12: God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”
And when Solomon brought a fair and good answer to such a dark and confused problem, the people saw God’s wisdom in him.
Fortunately for us, we need not be king of Israel to receive this same insight and grace.
James 1.5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Seek wisdom from above because of God’s compassionate justice.
4. Because of the Coming Judgment, We Seek God’s Wisdom
Solomon was a great man; he also failed miserably. For all the wisdom which enabled him to see clearly to help others, he succumbed to the foolishness of sexual pleasure. His wealth and power, probably a lot more like L. T. than we might first guess, allowed him to take wives and fall away from God.
The Queen of Sheba “came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (Matthew 12.42), but greater still is needed. And that one is Jesus, the Wisdom of God in human flesh, who becomes for his people, their wisdom as they place their faith and hope in him.
In our text, Solomon judges between sinful women in a case relatively insignificant. But in so doing, he pictures a judgment to come, where the truly wise one, Jesus, will judge all mankind. On that day, greater than Solomon of old, full of perfect and complete wisdom, Christ Jesus will “sit on his glorious throne” and “separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
Jesus is the source of all wisdom. He has wisdom to solve the problems of living in a fallen world. His wisdom shines in the common grace which allows much of life to be pleasurable when it could be so terrible, and in his compassionate justice, ordering the world that fairness and equity win out while the final judgment tarries. Mostly, however, the Bible wants us to recognize that a coming judgment will be in perfect wisdom, a wisdom which exposes everything to the light.
Hebrews 4.13: “No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
When the thoughts and intents of our hearts are exposed by the perfect wisdom of God, may your faith be in Jesus’ goodness and not your own. Only he is wise enough to take sinners to heaven.
