Introduction: Solomon, son of David, had just been crowned King of Israel. The LORD Himself had appeared to him in a dream, where the LORD asked Solomon what he would like to have. Solomon asked for wisdom and “an understanding heart to judge” the people (1 Kings 3:6-9). Now Solomon was about to face a real test of this wisdom. Two mothers came before him and the case was, shall we say, difficult!
1 Two women, two children, one casualty
Text, 1 Kings 3:16-23, KJV: 16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it 20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
This is the first time, as recorded in Scripture, where Solomon had to make a decision. And this decision wasn’t going to be easy: there were two mothers, each with a very young, if not newborn, baby boy! So far, so good; but there was a real problem for each of these two mothers.
One of the baby boys had died. Mother A had, I suppose, put her son to bed and Mother B had done the same thing. Again, no problem, it seems, but Mother B had “overlaid” her baby boy. There isn’t a lot of information in the standard commentaries (Clarke, Barnes, Poole, Trapp, and others) but one other translation of “overlaid” was “smothered “ or “lay on him (https://biblehub.com/text/1_kings/3-19.htm )”. This could mean that the mother had somehow taken the life of her own son.
Then, about midnight, Mother B discovers her baby isn’t breathing and switches babies with Mother A. Don’t ask me how she did this, as anybody who has handled an infant knows they don’t travel very well, do they?
Now comes morning, and Mother A realizes it’s time to feed the baby and prepares to nurse him. Oh, was she in for a surprise: she found the baby was dead! Mother A related her side of the story, and then Mother B did the same thing.
It’s anybody’s guess how long this “debate” went on before Solomon. I for one would like to know what he might have been thinking at this time—after all, Solomon wasn’t very old when this “case” was brought before him, and he may not have known which mother to believe. After all, these were apparently single mothers, who may or may not have been “harlots”. Several commentators observe that there is a similar, if not identical word in Hebrew which could be translated “hostess” or “inn-keeper” as well as “harlot”. Only God and these two women know for sure. Besides, how would a harlot or, “sex worker” as the term is used these days, ever have access to the king?
2 Two mothers, one king, one announcement
Text, 1 Kings 3:23-25, KJV: 23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
The two mothers had argued over whose son was living and whose was dead for an unspecified amount of time. Now, as mentioned, they were standing before the king himself, and what a sight that must have been: seeing these two going at each other, with who knows how many of the king’s staff watching all this, and everybody wondering what the king would do.
And what would Solomon do? He had prayed for wisdom and he absolutely needed it now. How could he know which mother was lying and which was telling the truth? He might have already guessed that no matter what judgment he handed down, somebody was going to be upset.
Now comes one of the most stunning applications of wisdom the world has ever seen. Solomon had listened to both mothers (how could he avoid any of this?) arguing whose child was alive and whose was not. I believe that he called for silence and then gave his first and one of his wisest decisions ever.
He said, like a judge examining the evidence and testimony, “One says this, and the other says that. Now, bring me a sword.” And someone did.
I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone there could have heard a pin drop as they waited for Solomon’s next move. True, he was son of David, a great warrior-king, but Israel was at peace and the nation was experiencing God’s blessings, so what was he going to do with the sword?
Now I imagine every person there gasped in disbelief when he made his proposed decision: “Cut the child into two pieces, and then give one half to A and the other half to B.”
And then he didn’t say another word. But the silence wouldn’t last for long.
3 One king, two mothers, two outcomes
Text, 1 Kings 3:26-28, KJV: 26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
Once the shock of Solomon’s pronouncement began to fade, at least one mother realized what was at stake. The mother of the surviving baby, Mother A, spoke out and made a heartfelt appeal to the king: “O my lord (note, not “king” here), let her have the baby! Don’t kill the baby!” Verse 25 says her “bowels yearned upon her son”, which we could say, “her heart was full of love for her son” or something similar. At any rate, she proved she had genuine mother-love, willing to sacrifice almost anything to save the life of her child.
That wasn’t the case for Mother B, however. Her heart seemed to have turned cold and she seemed to go along with Solomon’s plan to give each woman half of the baby (what on earth could either one accomplish if that happened, though?) She heard Mother A say, “Give the baby to the other woman, and don’t kill the baby” but she could only say, “Divide the child. That way it won’t be either mine or yours.”
And by this brief exchange, Solomon found out which of these two women was the mother of the living child. Clearly she was Mother A, who was willing to suffer the loss of her own son, giving him away to another woman who was not his mother in any way. Mother B showed her true colors when she hardened her heart and said, “Do whatever, that way the baby won’t belong to either one of us.”
That was all Solomon needed to hear. He had given the test, and had allowed the two mothers to speak, and what was in their hearts came flowing out of their mouths. Solomon then made his final pronouncement: “She’s the mother, so give her the baby”, speaking of Mother A.
We don’t know anything more about either mother, or even the child. What happened to them? What happened to the surviving son? The Bible says nothing about any of these people, but at the very least, they served as reminders that God gives true wisdom, and what is in our hearts, just like theirs, can’t help but flow through our lips.
May the LORD give us wisdom as well, to know, do, and say the right thing always! And may the LORD give every mother all the wisdom she needs to help raise her children for good and for God in these days.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
