1 KINGS 3:16-28 (A WISE RULING)
There is so much to unpack from this passage of Scripture, but I will go in the direction that I am led to. Also, I must say that there is a greater level of sacrifice when you let go of something that belongs to you versus when you let go of something that did not belong to you in the first place.
The story in 1 Kings 3:16-28 took place after King Solomon asked the Lord for a discerning heart. God agreed, blessed him with wisdom like no one else, and then He allowed him to have an experience to put his spiritual gift on display.
The Heated Argument
King Solomon had to apply His God-given wisdom in a heated argument. The argument involved two prostitutes concerning the death of the baby of one of them. The first woman told the King what happened. She accused the second woman of stealing her baby in the middle of the night, who was by her breast while she was asleep. The first woman also claimed that the other woman killed her baby because she lay on him and then switched her dead baby with hers 1 Kings 3:16-21. So, up until that point in the story, we don’t know whether her claim is true. Based on her claim, we imagine that the living baby belongs to her. We can also imagine how precious the baby is to her: she labored and gave her all for him. But what she saw when she woke up that morning was that all she had worked for was dead by her breast; What a tragedy!
However, the text tells us that when she took a closer look at her dead baby in the morning light, she noticed that her baby was not dead; the other woman got her living baby and gave her the dead one. This sounds like most of us who think that our dreams are dead or that our baby can no longer leap in our womb. But this woman got a revelation when she took a closer look at the baby in the morning light and realized that her baby was not dead. For many of us, if we could pick up that dream and take a closer look at it, not in the dark but in the light, we would see that what we think was dead is still alive. Therefore, we can say that this woman probably went to the One who gave her the baby and received insights in the daylight about what really happened in the dark. We serve a God who is not a respecter of persons, and when it’s time for Him to expose the lies of the enemy, He will reveal what only He can reveal. Suddenly, the first woman jumped out of her misery and realized that what she thought was dead was still breathing. The only problem is her baby, her gift, or her dream was stolen from her.
The Opponent
So, the first woman’s claim seems true until the second woman disagreed in verse 22; she said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours,” which then makes the first woman’s claim questionable. What a dilemma the king had to deal with!
Have you ever been in a situation where your own words or evidence are not powerful enough to fight a false accusation made against you? I have learned that in times like these, we need to stand on Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Here in the text, the first woman brought the matter straight to the king. I do not believe she had a back-and-forth argument with the other woman before she went to the King because the text doesn’t say that. And there are so many ways she could have handled the situation, but she decided to go to the King for justice. She could have let her anger take the wheel, especially seeing her own baby in the arms of another mother while she is convinced that this whole thing is a lie. There was a great possibility for her to lose her baby over the other woman’s schemes. She was probably thinking of all the discomfort she had to endure while carrying that baby for nine months. With all the pushing, straining, and screaming to give birth to that baby, just to watch someone else not only desire what she has but take him away from her without her consent. Imagine the level of frustration this woman was experiencing. She could have been driven by anger and dealt with the situation herself without the king. But she was humble enough to go to the One whom she trusted could administer justice properly. This teaches us that when our words and strengths are insufficient, this is the best time for God to step in. I have learned that when we have done all we can to save ourselves from something or a situation, especially when we know we deserve justice for it, but we do not see any help or improvement. Then, it is time to turn that situation over to the King of kings who knows exactly how to handle it.
The challenge in receiving justice from the King and the power that comes with trusting His way of administering it
We see that the first woman did the right thing by deciding not to take matters into her own hands and presented the nightmare to the King. And still, up to that point, we still don’t know who is right about their claim because the second woman refused to accept the dead baby as hers. Nevertheless, we cannot help but notice the courage of the first woman. She stood before the King and pleaded her case, not knowing how this whole ordeal would turn out, but somehow, she believed in the King’s ability to know the ultimate truth and to handle the case justly.
But here comes the challenging part. The king did not handle the problem the way the first woman thought he would. In fact, the king did not even show any belief in her claim. But rather, the king presented an unusual strategy to test their motives and to expose the liar. Thus, in verses 24-25, “Then the king 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.” Wait! What! So, these two women have to sacrifice what they thought was theirs? What a crazy way to administer justice! Yet, this sounds like when God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain Genesis 22:1-19. No wonder Solomon’s wisdom came from God because He taught him unusual ways of administering justice. And the greatest example we have in the Bible is our Savior Jesus Christ, who agreed with His Father to redeem the world to Himself as King of kings. And the way to achieve that goal was through servitude, suffering, the cross, and death. What a painful path He had to take to get the prize. So here, in the text, we see that these two women also faced an unusual challenge to fix the problem.
One of the things I believe the Holy Spirit wants us to notice in the text as well is that the king did not ask them for their consent. So, God, who is the giver of life, doesn’t have to ask us for our consent when He asks us to lay down someone or something, and His servant Job is the best person who can explain that when he said in Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
We also have to consider that the king knew that his strategy would be difficult for these two women to comprehend and accept, but he also knew that it would move the heart of the one who truly cares. So, now let’s consider the women’s reaction to the King’s way of administering justice in this painful situation. The second woman’s response was: “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two.” (1 Kings 3:26b). In other words, a shorter version of that verse would be: “I don’t care if the king cuts the baby in half, let’s get it over with.” However, when we consider the first woman’s response, it says: “The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king: Please, don’t kill him!” (1 Kings 3:26a). So, she loved her son so much that she was willing to lose him and lose it all so her baby could live. She was willing to sacrifice her pride in being right in the argument; she was willing to lose her right to enjoy her baby; she was willing to forget about her pain, her sleepless nights, tears, the betrayal she suffered, the lies she’d endured just so her baby could live.
So, if this story resonates with you and me in any area of our lives, then we need to ask ourselves: What are we willing to let go of to let something else live, even if what we must let go of seems unfair now? Do we trust God’s justice over our own? Are we willing to wait on God’s justice while we watch the very thing we put all our time and efforts into be taken away from us unjustly? Do we believe that our King is powerful enough to give us back the years that the locusts have eaten from us? God says in His Word in Joel 2: 25, “So, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.” In other words, God is saying, “Look, I don’t care what kind of locust it is, whether it is a crawling one, a chewing one, whether it came in the form of a divorce, disease, financial issue, or a setback, I will give you back the years that the locusts have eaten from you.”
You see, what the first woman did not know was that there was power in her release. She didn’t know that because she trusted the King and did not resist His method of administering justice; greater rewards awaited her on the other side of her release, even if the king’s way seemed unfair; after all, the baby was truly hers. Yet her trust in the King’s justice gave her more than she asked for. She not only got her baby back, but her peace back. She will never have to worry about people stealing her baby again because now her haters know that she knows who to go to get justice. As a result of this, she even has a better relationship with the king. The king knows her and her baby; he is on her side and favors her. She came out of that situation that seemed unfair with justice served, with more joy, and more favor because she won the case and was able to take her baby with her. The first woman was able to get all these blessings only because she decided to do two things: She took the matter straight to the King, refusing to handle it herself, and she trusted the King’s way of administering justice even if his method seemed unfair to her. She decided to release what was rightfully hers even when it was painful. Thus, ended up gaining everything back and more!
Today, I invite you to trust God’s process for your deliverance, whatever the situation may be and no matter how unfamiliar God’s strategy may appear to you. Allow Him to take away the things and the people He wants to remove, even if it is something He might have given you in the past or people He might have allowed to be in your circle for a season. Know that “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Psalm 126: 5-6.
God knows exactly how to pay you back for the years that the locusts have eaten from you. Trust His way because you are in good hands! Relax, dear! Sit quietly in His presence and let Him cook. Also, remember that the psalmist David was referring to the same strategy when he said: “The Lord (Father) said to my Lord (the Messiah, His Son), sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” Psalm 110:1.
So, be of good courage; let God defend you, but you be still.
SCRIPTURES
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of Justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.” Isaiah 30:18
“For, I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.” Isaiah 61:8
“He says, be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
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