Solomon And The Two Mothers Series

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.