God’s Faithfulness to Mothers.
1 Kings 3:16-28 (NASB)
Solomon Wisely Judges
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 1ashe 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 1the 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 athey saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
1 Kings 3:16-28 (NASB)
God loves all mothers, even imperfect ones.
Now two prostitutes came to the king (Solomon) and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son - and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne."
The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours."
But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.
The king said, "This one says, ’My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ’No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’"
Then the kind said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."
The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!"
But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"
Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."
When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice
But do you know what one of the problems is with classic Bible stories? We often learn the primary lesson and fail to see the rest of the story.
This incident is used of God to show He had given Solomon the wisdom he had requested as king. It proves that wisdom comes from God. It demonstrates that love comes from God, and love is present even when one is undeserving and perhaps unlovable.
I want you to notice that neither of these women were anywhere close to perfect, in fact there is no such thing as a perfect mother.
I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but to recognize that no one is without fault. Understand that no one is more caring a mother. Sometimes we are too hard on them because we hold them up to an impossible standard. Sometimes they are too hard on themselves.
These mothers were less than perfect. In fact, they were a long ways from perfect. The two mothers in this story were prostitutes. Their babies were evidently conceived under sinful circumstances, and puts them at a serious disadvantage.
You can’t help wondering why Solomon, king over God’s chosen people, a very important person, a very busy person even take the time to worry with two prostitutes? These women, and the sinful men who fathered their child were clearly living outside of God’s will. But, God loved the women, and He loved the children.
Solomon was concerned about the women and child because God loved, and was concerned, about the women!
I don’t have to convince you that the church should stand for moral purity, and we should uphold a high standard. But the church should also stand for forgiveness and restoration!
These women were not living up to God’s ideals - yet He still loved them! And, you know, if any of us had to wait for God to love us based on our performance we would all be out of luck!
No, we’ve already established that there is no such thing as a perfect mother, just like there aren’t any perfect people among the rest of us. And if there’s anyone in whom we should be willing to overlook faults, it should be our mother. Why? Because they’ve overlooked so many of our faults, maybe they took their cue from the way God looks at us.
Maybe we need to lighten up on our moms a little, and maybe moms need to lighten up on themselves a little.
Moms need to laugh and have a good time. Here are a few good laughs for you. These are some experts from the "Children’s Letters to God" series, actual authentic letters written by kids to God:
"Dear God, I read the Bible. What does ’begat’ mean? Nobody will tell me. Love, Alison."
"Dear God, did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?" - Norma
"Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay?" - Neil
"Dear God, thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy." - Joyce
"Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up." - Bruce
"Dear God, please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year." - Peter
"Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I’m not praying." -Elliot
"Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love everybody in the world. There are only 4 in my family and I can’t do it." -Nan
"Dear God, I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool. -Eugene
These are all authentic letters would make any mother smile!
Here’s another point of this account or Solomon with the case of two prostitutes and their babies.
Here’s an important lesson God not only cares for mothers, he has answers for mothers’ problems.
Don’t look for stress-free motherhood, it doesn’t exist. Beginning with the pains of giving birth, day to day difficulties related to raising children, dirty laundry and hungry children, dealing with scrapped knees and broken hearts and beyond, motherhood is stressful.
I don’t intend to focus on the difficulties, the good news is that God is willing and able to assist moms in any of the problems they encounter.
God didn’t give Solomon wisdom so folks would stand around the palace and say "ooh" and "ahh" isn’t Solomon smart. He gave His wisdom for a purpose. God not only loved those two prostitute mothers, He also loved the little surviving baby in this story. God dispatched His wisdom to Solomon to save the child, and intercede for two sinful and imperfect women.
Recognize that God has love and wisdom to spare for imperfect moms today. He can guide and provide for mothers in all kinds of life situations - single moms, adoptive moms, step-moms, grand-moms, moms with special situations, you name it!
All of our kids today have special needs, they’re growing up in a difficult and evil world. Moms, if you don’t feel that you have the wisdom and ability for dealing with it that’s okay. In fact, you are blessed that you can recognize that you don’t have what it takes. God has the wisdom to give you for the task, and He loves you and wants to help you. He can and will teach you what to do and what to say in every situation.
Like the mom who was tucking her small boy into bed one summer night during a violent thunder storm. She was just about to turn out the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"
The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can’t, Dear," she said, "I have to sleep with your daddy."
There was a long silence….that was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy."
No, there is nothing like a mother’s love! And, there’s nothing like our God’s love for a mother. Acknowledge that as a mom today you need God’s help, and He is more than willing to give you what you need to meet the challenge of raising your children, that you love so much. You know, children are great imitators, they learn from what they see you doing and from hearing what you are saying.
Moms, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, you need Godly wisdom in order to live a God honoring life, to raise your child in a God honoring way. Ask for His wisdom and help each and every day, pray for your children and grandchildren for safety from the dangers of this world, for children who worship and live for God, and model a life that honors God for your children, not to be perfect mothers, but to be mothers who depend on God.
Thanks to Brian Atwood for his inspiration
