November 20, 2024 1 Kings 3:16-28
November 20, 2024 1 Kings 3:16-28
16 Then
two prostitutes 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 Then
on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were
alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the
house. 19 And this woman's son died in the night,
because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at
midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him
at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When
I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked
at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had
borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the
living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the
dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the
king.
23 Then
the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is
dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living
one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So
a sword was brought 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.” 26 Then the woman whose son was
alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my
lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the
other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then
the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by
no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And
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.
I so love this story! As a child I couldn’t imagine why King Solomon
would suggest such a thing as splitting a baby in two, but as I grew up I
realized that Solomon knew love for the child would prevail. The real mother’s love would want him to
live, even if she didn’t get to spend his life with him. How does your love show for others? Do you want their best even if it isn’t best
for you? Allow God’s love to work
through you to change lives.
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