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"Then
came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king,
and stood before him. 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. 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. And this woman's child died
in the night; because she overlaid it. 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. 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. 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. 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. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they
brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the
living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the
other. 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. Then the king answered and said, Give her
the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the
mother thereof. 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."
INTRODUCTION:
The Lord
willing, we are going to next study an event in the life of
Solomon, King Solomon of Israel.
Our Text will be
First Kings chapter three. These lessons will focus on the
wisdom God gave young Solomon. Verses sixteen through
twenty-eight to be specific.
After all, we do
worship and serve an omniscient God! He knows all. And He has
clearly stated that He is willing to share His vast, really
unlimited Wisdom with whomever! Whoever asks for it anyway!
"If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." James 1:5, quite a promise indeed!
In fact, let's
today ask God several times for wisdom and insight and
understanding as we scan and adore this great Bible passage. I
think that in all these years, while I have taught this amazing
event a few times, I've never preached the Text verse by verse!
I'm looking
forward to it.
Join us!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 1, VERSE 16:
This is the first verse in our
paragraph about Solomon's wisdom, especially as it is
demonstrated in a down-to-earth situation.
Two ladies are introduced to us.
"Then came there two women, that were
harlots, unto the king, and stood before him." First
Kings 3:16
The noun for "women" is "ishshah,"
normally translated "wife" in the Old Testament. Now these two
may have indeed been married, once anyway. No doubt by now
they're divorced. And the Text is quick to tell us that they
also are "harlots."
This Hebrew noun is "zanah," a person
who "commits fornication." The root of our word indicates an
individual who is "well-fed, wanton, overabundant." Not ladies
of moderation!
Nonetheless these women somehow gained
access to the King, the King of Israel!
Of course in the few ways Solomon is a
Type of Christ Jesus our Lord, harlots and immoral women had
access to Him as well! He saved many a lady with such a
background! He died for sinners, you know!
But these two have a specific problem,
a grievance. And they need the insight, prudence, understanding,
discernment of their Leader.
Well, as everyone knows by now,
Solomon is dead. Three thousand years dead now.
But I am so glad to report that we
alive today still have a Leader to Whom we can go for
wisdom. And His Name is Jesus.
And through the Leadership of His Holy
Spirit, plus the written Word He has given us, the Bible, we can
seek His "Mind."
Knowledge on how to live in such a way
as to please Almighty God!
Jesus, so much more than Solomon, is
God's very Treasure House of Wisdom! Paul actually expressed it
this way: "Jesus, In Whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3
Jesus, our Mentor!
Greater than Solomon!
--- Dr. Mike
Bagwell
LESSON 2,
VERSE 17:
Today we journey back to First Kings
chapter three. In the precious Book we call the Old Testament.
We're
studying these days an event in Solomon's life. The time two
ladies, harlots, came to him with one living infant and one
dead, both newborns.
There's a problem to be addressed. One of the mothers has rolled
over on her baby during the night and smothered it. Then, the
first harlot claims, the deceitful mom traded her dead baby for
the living one!
But
I'm getting ahead of the story. Let's listen to the conversation
between the King and the lady who first speaks.
"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."
1 Kings 3:17
This
is not a lot of information, but it will suffice for today.
"I and this woman dwell in one house."
The
verb "dwell" here is "yashab." It's Hebrew for "remain, abide or
stay, continue." This then must have been a permanent living
arrangement.
So
this much is readily apparent. Her baby would not be dead ...
had she not lived with a deceitful woman!
The
mother whose living baby was accidentally suffocated allowed the
wrong person to sleep in her bed!
Which
leads me, any preacher really, to logically deduce the fact that
one's companions have a great influence on the trajectory
of one's life!
Be
careful with whom you live!
This
is a fundamental message throughout all Scripture,
appearing again and again. Here are some scattered examples.
"Be
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?" Paul the Apostle in
2nd Corinthians 6:14.
"Make
no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou
shalt not go." But why? "Lest thou
learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul." Solomon in
Proverbs 22:24-25.
"Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?" The Prophet Amos in his
little Sermon Book, Amos 3:3.
"Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." King
David in Psalm 1:1-2.
Then:
"Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you." Back to Paul in 2nd
Corinthians 6:17, but with the same subject in mind.
That's enough
Scripture for this point.
Let's be
careful whom we allow to become our friends!
Well, one
final thought: "Be
not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."
1st Corinthians 15:33
What
warnings!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, VERSE 18:
Our next verse
tells more about the tragic situation we're studying. Two
mothers, both harlots, one with a dead baby and the other with a
living child. And these infants were only three days apart in
age. By now you
have probably read the whole story. Here it is so far, with a
little "hint" of what's coming as well. "Then
came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king,
and stood before him. 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. 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. And this woman's child died
in the night; because she overlaid it. 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. 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. 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."
1st Kings 3:16-22
Today's Verse:
"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." Verse 18
We learn a few
bare facts here.
The babies, as
I said earlier, are only a few hours apart in age, three days.
The two women
lived together and alone, no other person in the house. No
"stranger," in Hebrew "zur," usually indicating a "foreign"
person.
I see here a
pattern, In fact it might even be a faint glimmer of "typology."
Or perhaps just an allusion to Jewish history.
One son dies!
One son lives!
And an attempt
to replace the dead son with the living one!
Think with me
now. This is a paradigm of Scripture.
Adam's and
Eve's Son Abel dies. Murdered in fact!
But God
gives them another, Seth, who carried the godly line.
David's son
Amnon died, as does Absalom, not counting his little baby boy.
But God gives David and Bathsehba another child, this one named
Solomon. He's the next King too!
But then, so
beautifully expressed in the Bible, God's Son dies! His Name is
Jesus and He is crucified on a torturous Roman cross.
But here's the
good news. God's Son does not remain dead! Sin slew Him, a Death
that is sacrificial. A Death nonetheless allowed by His Father
in Heaven, Almighty God!
But God raised
His Son, this Same Son, from the Grave!
One might say,
using Paul's terminology, that the First Adam, a "son" of God
according to Luke 3:38, in the sense that God directly and
miraculously created him ... died!
God's first
son.
But God's
second Son, the "last Adam" based on 1st Corinthians 15:45,
literally lived! Still lives in fact! Died for sinners, then on
"the 3rd day," another expression common to our 1st Kings 3
story here, came back to life!
Never to die
again!
1st Kings 3,
two little Hebrew sons, through whom we faintly, as if through
an x-ray, see a Picture of Passover in the past ... and
a soon
coming Jesus in the future!
Wow!
Certainly it's
true.
One can find
Jesus in any Bible Text, if creativity and discernment are
exercised, of course as led by the Holy Spirit!
No one "took"
God's Son from Him ... He freely gave Him for us all!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSES 19-20:
The Text today
reads: "And
this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
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." 1st Kings 3:19-20
How very sad!
A mother
"sleeps" on her son, asphyxiating him. That verb "overlaid"
translates "shakab," just meaning "lie down" on a bed. To rest a
few hours, in other words.
Was she
careless?
Was she drunk?
Was it simply
an accident?
No one knows. The
Scripture is not that specific. No liability is ascribed for the
heartbreaking tragedy.
All we know is
that she, the heavy sleeper, was a harlot, living with a
girlfriend.
No blame for
the death ... but here's the issue, the problem.
Someone lied
about the situation.
The mom of the
dead baby switched him with the living infant, as the other
harlot slept!
That's deceit!
That's
stealing!
And all this
"confusion" is brought to king Solomon, a hard "knot" to
unravel!
Both ladies
claim the living son!
Then again,
we've so far heard only one side of the story!
Therefore Solomon
(wisely) does not yet render a solution, a verdict.
He wrote
elsewhere of such dilemmas. Let's read his brilliant words.
"The
simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh
well to his going."
Proverbs 14:15, which being
explained means ... "There are two sides to most accounts!"
There must be
some other way to understand this confrontation.
If we could
only see the hearts of these two mothers.
But only Deity
can do that! "For
man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on
the heart."
God's very words in 1st Samuel 16:7.
So Solomon,
now richly invested with Wisdom from above, recently so in fact,
seeks the "mind of the Lord" on this issue.
James teaches
us something Solomon had already experienced.
"If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him."
James 1:5
The
soon-coming judgment Solomon renders will be astounding, and
suitable, and successful too!
He certainly discovers
God's Will in this affair.
More on this
tomorrow, Lord willing.
Oh, one more
thought today.
Things that
happen at "midnight," things in the Bible. I mean
things like this baby-swap. Are there
many? If so, where?
The Passover,
the Death Angel, or the Delivering Angel if you had the Blood
applied, flew overhead at midnight! Just read Exodus
12:29 for proof of the timeline.
And Samson was
up one evening at midnight! "And
Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took
the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went
away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his
shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is
before Hebron."
Judges 16:3, moving gates and
defeating enemies at that hour!
Now here's
Ruth and Boaz at midnight! "And
when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went
to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly,
and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. And it came to pass
at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself:
and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art
thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid:
spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art
a near kinsman." Ruth 3:7-9, a marriage proposal!
The godly
Psalmist, every midnight, is awake and praising God!
"At
midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of
thy righteous judgments."
Psalm 119:62, inspiring!
Then there was
that earthquake God sent at midnight to a Macedonian city
called Philippi. Its very epicenter was at the city jail! And
Paul and Silas were eventually set free, with a number of souls
being saved too. Acts 16:25 is the text for this one.
Next Paul
preached until midnight in Troas, an encouragement to
many of us men of God yet today. Acts 20:7, though one young man
did fall asleep!
Lastly, one
midnight Paul was in a storm ... a shipwreck is imminent. But
God saves the lives of all aboard, 276 men I think. See Acts
27:27.
Bible teacher,
Preacher studying with us today ... think about a series of
lessons or sermons on the "midnights" of the Bible!
But be sure to
include this bright thought. We serve a God Who can give a song
at midnight! In Job 35:10 the great patriarch says of God that
He is such a Giver, the Provider "of songs
in the night."
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5, VERSE 21:
Our journey
continues, a verse-by-verse trek through 1 Kings 3:16-28. Today
we need to discuss verse 21. It's a story of two ladies, each
with a newborn child. "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."
The mother
who first speaks to Solomon claims to have been robbed! Of her
baby, of her living son. She is accusing her roommate of killing
one infant, accidentally no doubt, smothering the baby in her
sleep.
But worse, the
careless Mom now has deceitfully tried to switch the babies!
Sadness consumes this account.
The one thing
I'd like us to notice today is the fact that the Mother with the
living child, according to her story so far, spent some time the
next morning "considering" the whole situation.
Instinct,
maternal instinct alone, should have told her something was
"wrong." And maybe it did.
But her
morning "consideration" made things definite. Cemented her
thinking, removed any doubts.
The verb
Solomon uses for this lady's "considering" is spelled "biyn" in
Hebrew. It means "to discern." Better yet, "to gain
understanding."
The verb stem
here is labeled "Hithpolel" by the Hebrew teachers. It is both
reflexive and causative.
She
herself is the one doing the deep thinking. Thus being
grammatically reflexive. And there is a cause that propels her
to think like this, love for the child or an impulse from God,
whatever. Therefore the "causative" label is attached to our
word.
Morning
"think" time!
This whole
idea is close to the Biblically taught practice of "meditation."
We are primarily encouraged to ponder Scripture in this fashion.
Dozens of rewards are promised if we do so, guaranteed by the
Lord Himself!
But
meditation on the affairs of life is good too. Weighing one's
ways in the eyes of God.
Here's the
Bible advice I'd most like to share now. Words from thre Mouth
of God: "Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Do you take
time every day to "consider" the issues of the day?
To "meditate"
in God's Word?
If we
evaluate all of life in the Light of God and His Word ... many a
problem can be solved!
Or avoided!
Or at least
made easier to bear!
Amen.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6, VERSES
22-23:
It's become
an argument!
Two Mothers
... two babies!
But one of
those infants is dead!
And both Moms
are claiming the living one!
"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. 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." 1st Kings 3:22-23
The Text is
cyclic. Two ladies, harlots, argue. Then the King, Wise Solomon,
carefully repeats their stories, opposing stories!
Not a single
name is given in the whole Passage, except for the King's.
Perhaps that means our Jewish Monarch is the "star," the main
character, of the Paragraph.
He's the one
who unravels this interpersonal "knot," using a gem of prudence
freshly received from the Lord!
But look, all
we have to develop today in our Lesson is a two-verse argument!
What must be said? What can be said?
Surely
something about the confrontations in Scripture!
The Bible is
full of them.
Eve versus
the Devil, Satan or the Serpent!
Cain versus
Abel.
Noah versus
the ungodly population of his day.
God versus
the rebels at the Tower of Babel.
Abraham
versus Lot.
Isaac versus
Ishmael.
Jacob versus
Esau.
Joseph versus
Potiphar's Wife.
And we're
just now leaving the Bible's first Book, Genesis!
Moses versus
Pharaoh.
Joshua versus
the giants.
Hundreds,
maybe thousands of Bible arguments!
How do we
handle these strained relationships? These situations where it
looks like someone is lying? Where maybe even life and death are
the ultimate issues?
Here are some
ideas.
Jesus said to
settle such battles "quickly!"
Paul said we
should not let the sun set on any angry spirit within our heart!
The Lord
again spoke blessings on the "peacemaker."
Peter said a
lot of fervent, pure love would "cover" a multitude of
wrongdoing, of hurts and brokenness.
Solomon said
that even our words, apparently including the "tone" of our
voices, can settle many a stand-off.
And David
prayed that all he thought, much less said, would be "approved"
of God, "acceptable" in His Sight!
Pretty good
advice.
Even these
ladies could have implemented some of these nuggets, maybe all
of them.
Surely we,
living three thousand years later, can live lives of peace and
harmony ... with all the "light" we now possess, gleaned from
the Word of God of course.
Otherwise,
Paul leaves us with a bit of stark reality in this area.
"If
it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all
men." Romans 12:18
As much as
possible!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
If those
two lonely Moms had possessed the advice and counsel readily
available to us, straight from the Heart of God and recorded in
His Word, this "fight" might have never occurred.
LESSON 7, VERSES 24-25:
Solomon could
have anything he wanted. God promised so! But He humbly asked the Lord for
wisdom. "And
God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou
hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine
enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom
and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people,
over whom I have made thee king. Wisdom and knowledge is
granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and
honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been
before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like."
2nd Chronicles 1:11-12
And as soon as this wisdom was
granted, the King faced a "test." An opportunity to prove his
ability to meekly discern the things of God.
Two ladies appeared before the
Monarch. Each with a baby, one dead and the other alive, the
infants, both boys.
On top of that, both Moms were
claiming the living child!
What's a King to do?
An understanding Judge is needed!
Here's how Solomon responded.
"And
the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king." 1st Kings 3:24, where "sword" translates
chereb," meaning a "knife, dagger, axe," or any such cutting
tool.
What exactly is he going to do?
Obviously, split something.
Or someone!
More about that tomorrow.
No, I can hardly wait.
"And
the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to
the one, and half to the other."
The next verse in our text, verse
25.
Wow!
A sword ... to cut and sever and
divide.
All this reminds me of another
Bible Sword.
"For
the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12
The Bible!
When Jesus returns to earth some
day, still future at the time of this writing, the Word of God
that proceeds out of His Mouth is again depicted as a "sharp
sword!" Revelation 19:15 is the reference.
Yes.
The Bible is God's great Book of
demarcation! Again:
"For
the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
It is here called a "living"
Book, "zao" in Greek but translated "quick" in our King James
Bibles.
"Powerful" translates "energes,"
very "energetic, enabled of God!"
"Piercing" is a blend of "dia"
and "hikanos." Meaning "sufficient or enough" ... to "go all the
way through anything!"
"Dividing asunder" is from the
root word "meros," putting a thing into many different "pieces"
or "parts!"
But look how closely, how
precisely, the Scriptures can discern. It can even differentiate
the "soul" from the "spirit!" This is a topic of conversation
and study and even debate among professionals to our very day,
soul and spirit!
And to the "joints" and "marrow"
of the body! Another quite close dichotomy, medically taxing in
Paul's day! But the Bible can do it!
Read God's Word!
It will separate the true from
the false.
It will try every aspect of our
being.
It will reveal to us God's System
of Priorities.
It will, just like Solomon's
sword is about to do in our lessons, solve our problems!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8, VERSE 26:
We are now at
the "heart" of our story, 1st Kings 3:16-28. Solomon has
rendered a decision, one concerning the two little babies. One
dead infant and one still alive.
Here is that ruling:
"And
the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and
give half to the one, and half to the other." 1st Kings
3:24-25
And here are the women's responses to that decree:
"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." 1st Kings 3:26
The true Mother becomes
obvious!
What skill and discernment and
wisdom the King has just displayed, truly ability straight from
God!
Two hearts have just been
revealed!
One is a heart of true love!
The other was apparently
motivated by lesser emotions.
Today I'd like to discuss the
Mom who smothered her little boy. Then stole the living baby
from its Mom!
She just said in essence, "Go
ahead! Kill the living child! That way no one has a baby. If I
am going to experience bereavement and sadness ... so can she!"
This woman was under the
control of "envy!"
She did not want her "friend"
to have anything she herself could not have and enjoy!
To her, better both be
devastated that she alone!
Now let's contrast that feeling
with our Lord Jesus Christ, His Heart.
He was willing to die for you
and me, suffering untold pain and agony ... that we may be
happy!
That we might be saved,
delivered, possessors of Eternal Life!
Luke words it this way:
"For
the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Luke 19:10
He lost it all ... that we
might enjoy the wonderful things of God!
What a Saviour!
How unlike the selfish Mom in
today's story.
--- Dr.
Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9, VERSE 26 AGAIN:
The King has
wisely hit on the solution to the problem at hand. The Mother of
the dead baby does not care about the fate of the living child!
But, and what
a contrast this is, the Mom of the living baby had a totally
different attitude!
Her very
words again:
"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." 2nd Kings 3:26
The heart of
a true Matriarch!
Really a
genuine Dad feels this way too.
Here we see
the "sacrifice" authentic love is willing to make, especially in
order to spare its object of affection!
Better this
little boy, vibrant and healthy, be reared in someone else's
home ... than slain and deprived of a lifetime of growth and
potential happiness.
Paul depicts
this type of unselfish affection in detail in 1st Corinthians
chapter 13, under the name of "charity" or "agape" love.
"Charity
suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things. Charity never faileth."
And once this
sacrificial love exhibited itself in the heart and on the tongue
of Mom number one, Solomon knew the identity of the real parent
here!
So Solomon
rendered his decision: "Then
the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no
wise slay it: she is the mother thereof." 1st
Kings 3:27
It's true
what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "Out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10, SOLOMON'S
IDEA:
The idea
Solomon had, that thought about slicing a baby boy in half, what
was its source?
Of course the
mere mention of such an act revealed the identity of the child's
real Mother. For that matter it uncovered the false Mom too!
To refresh
our memories, here's the Text again: "And
the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and
give half to the one, and half to the other." 1st Kings
3:24-25
Again I ask,
how did the Lord lead Solomon to such an unusual solution?
Well, I think
I might know the answer.
Likely
Solomon, being King as he was, heard the Bible read often. The
Law of Moses required, meaning God mandated it also, that the
Israelite Monarch be a scholar of the scrolls!
Read this
with me. "And
it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of
that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall
be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the
words of this law and these statutes, to do them. That his heart
be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside
from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the
left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his
kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."
It's pure Bible, Deuteronomy
17:18-20.
All I'm
saying is this. A good King, which Solomon was initially, would
have thoroughly known God's Word, that part written thus far anyhow.
And the
following
little piece of information is buried in that Law, that
Pentateuch, that Bible, not escaping the King's attention or
memory apparently!
"And
if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not
cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; the owner of the pit
shall make it good, and give money unto the owner
of them; and the dead beast shall be his. And if one
man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the
live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox
also they shall divide." Exodus 21:33-35
An ox here is
to be halved!
Cut into two
pieces!
Come to think
of it, every sacrifice in Israel, nearly every sacrifice, was
"cut" into pieces.
Solomon based
his decision about these Mothers and their babies on something
he had read in God's Word, just with a few changes in practice to fit the
new situation.
God thought of
cutting an animal in half, to enact justice!
Solomon
adopts the same idea, actually using precedent, and does
basically the same thing!
And the
advice worked, was extremely successful.
"And
the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to
the one, and half to the other. 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. Then the
king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no
wise slay it: she is the mother thereof." 1st
Kings 3:25-27 once again.
And this
principle holds through throughout all God's Word. A later
writer drawing from the wisdom of an earlier writer!
Paul did this
repeatedly.
So did Peter.
And John.
Even Jesus.
And so may
we.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11, VERSE 28:
The last
verse of our Text now enters our focus of attention. And we may
stay here several lessons. "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." 1st Kings 3:28
The words
"judgment" and "had judged," a noun with its related verb,
translate the Greek root word "shaphat," meaning "to govern,
rule," or even "punish."
King Solomon
has rendered a wise decision!
One that
rewards the first lady, the true Mother who had told no lie, and
punishes and exposes the second lady, the thief or kidnapper.
And keep in
mind that this event occurs immediately after God, in answer to
Jedidiah's prayer, Solomon's other name, has gifted the man with
supernatural wisdom!
Wow, Solomon
means "peace" and Jedidiah means "Beloved of Jehovah." It uses
the same word stem that the name "David" uses, "boiling" hot
love!
Add to this
fervor and hunger for the Lord a generous allotment of wisdom
... and you have a character sample of the King.
"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."
This man, our royal judge in
these lessons, was a writer too. Scripture tells us he composed
three thousand proverbs and a thousand and five songs. First
Kings chapter four, verse thirty-two is our source here.
Of these only about two hundred
proverbs survive, all in the Old Testament Book by that name,
Proverbs. And just three of his songs or poems have lived into
modernity, Psalm 72 and Psalm 127 and that whole little love
story, the Song of Solomon.
But here's what I want to say.
Add one more proverb please. The lesson we've been studying
for ten or twelve days now is nothing but an "acted proverb."
Ezekiel did this too, quite
often, "visualized" his sermons, performed them in front of the
people to whom he preached.
Solomon, wise man!
Too bad he later let sin creep
into his life and tarnish the glow of all that godliness!
"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."
Let's live for Jesus.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
An old British preacher by the
name of Alexander Maclaren once said, "Every miracle is a
parable. And every parable is a miracle." In like fashion our
"two mothers" story here is a proverb!
LESSON 12, STILL
VERSE 28:
The verb
"feared" in 1st Kings 3:38, where the people "feared" their wise
King, is spelled "yare" in Hebrew. It quite often means "to
revere" a person!
They had deep
respect and held in high honor the man whom God had set as their
leader.
"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." 1st Kings 3:28
Yes, Solomon was wise.
And from his own pen, confined to
the Book of Ecclesiastes, I extracted three blessings,
side-effects, corollary benefits of this God-given Wisdom.
First, it makes one's face
"shine!" Here it is word for word: "Who
is as the wise man? and who knoweth the
interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to
shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed."
Ecclesiastes 8:1, where "shine" translates "or," a little verb
meaning "to become light!" Like fire, or once it's
even compared to
the break of day, both examples in the King James Bible.
Next Wisdom "strengthens" a
person. Solomon under the leadership and inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God wrote: "Wisdom
strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are
in the city." Ecclesiastes 7:19, with "azaz"
meaning "to cause to prevail!" To be hard with resolve, not soft
and indecisive! Nearly a touch of a right kind of stubbornness is
implied!
Then Ecclesiastes 9:18 promises
that Wisdom from God is an aid in fighting the enemies of life,
no doubt the devil being the chief. "Wisdom
is better than weapons of war." Jesus certainly
defeated Satan with His mighty Wisdom and Discernment!
There they are.
Seek and enjoy God's Wisdom ...
and thereby be blessed with a shining, bright countenance! And
amazing spiritual strength! And victory time and time again as
the enemies fall before you!
"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." 1st Kings 3:28
We can claim God's Wisdom too.
"If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." James 1:5
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 13, THOSE
LADIES:
Those ladies!
The ones
we've been studying.
"Then
came there two women, that were harlots, unto the
king, and stood before him. 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. 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. And this woman's
child died in the night; because she overlaid it. 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. 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."
1st Kings 3:16-21
They occupy
half the chapter at least, 1st Kings 3, vital introductory
material to the reign of Majestic, Wise King Solomon.
The "motif"
of this chapter is centered in these two women if fact.
Now today let
me show you how the whole Bible is, at least in a sense,
patterned around "two women!"
Truthfully
the Book of 1st Kings opens that way, with two other women and
their sons. Two boys, now grown, vying for the Kingdom, for the
Throne of Israel. One is named Solomon and the other is Adonijah.
The ladies, their Moms respectively, are Bathsheba and Haggith.
So really our
two Mothers in 1st Kings 3, our Text for several days now, are the
second set of warring ladies in the Book. And the Book is only
three chapters old!
Next we widen
the scope a bit. Let's discuss the two ladies of Proverbs, the
whole Book of Proverbs. There Lady Wisdom appears again and again. Chapter nine
involves her giving a great feast, inviting the simple and
unlearned to enjoy the meats and drinks of Godly understanding,
holy discernment! The other prominent lady is called "the strange woman,"
lacking in morality and humility and obviously Wisdom! These two
permeate the whole 31 chapters, Proverbs, the great Bible Book
of Wisdom.
Then we journey
to the New Testament ... to see if two women can be found,
symbolically and yet spiritually accurate. Here they are! A
Bride and a Harlot do come to mind. The Bride belongs to Jesus
and is chaste and pure, the New Testament Church really! And the
other one is quite the opposite, a "whore" to use King James
language, carefully described in
Revelation 17. Picturing the ungodly religious amalgamation of
the great tribulation days, apostasy personified, ecumenicity at
its fullest.
Sets of
ladies!
And our two
1st Kings 3 girls fit the picture, the paradigm perfectly.
Let's learn!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 14, HARLOTS
ONCE, SAINTS NOW:
The incident
we've been noticing has two harlots confronting King
Solomon almost immediately after he was gifted by God with
astounding Wisdom.
True, these
ladies have a problem.
One has been
dishonest, stealing a baby from the other.
Each is
claiming a living child, each denying a dead one.
Solomon, as
Kings often did in bygone days, was expected to decide the heart
of the case, the truth.
But still,
two questionable women before the King, so soon?
Perhaps
there's a bit of foreshadowing here. Solomon is, by consensus
anyway, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. At least in some ways,
in reference to His Power and Glory and Wealth and Peacefulness.
And Jesus,
even before He was born, was associated with such ladies! Less
than perfect women!
Ladies much like
these who are now standing before King Solomon!
Let me
briefly mention them, those in Jesus' Heritage.
I'll first start
here.
In the line
of Jesus' forefathers, given us by both Matthew and Luke, we
find an amazing and unique thing. There are some women
mentioned! Genealogies never did this in ancient days. But note
the type ladies who are mentioned, even more astounding.
There's
Tamar, a harlot from the Book of Genesis! Matthew 1:3 lists her
as authentic and spells her name "Thamar," a Greek rendering of
the Hebrew.
Then there's Rahab,
another harlot! Matthew 1:5 lists her as "Rachab," a woman of
ill repute.
There's Ruth too,
a foreign and despised and cursed Moabite! See Matthew 1:5 for
her name, the heroine of the Book of Ruth, a Bible Book named
after her! In the Jewish Old Testament!
Last of all there's
Bathsheba, an adulteress! Matthew 1:6 just calls her "the wife
of Uriah," but we all know.
Four such
ladies ... in line to bring Jesus into the world!
But I must
add this, now four forgiven ladies!
Four
believing ladies!
Four ladies
mightily used of God!
Four ladies
we should respect.
All I'm
saying today is this. Solomon had some less-than-ideal women
around him. At the onset of his reign.
Jesus did
too. Up to hundreds of years before His Birth! But because of
the Grace of God and the Blood of the Lamb ... forgiveness and
cleansing and justification are possible to those who exercise
faith in Christ and His Death on Calvary.
What
contrasts!
Two harlots
around Mr. Wisdom, King Solomon! But he sure helped them solve
their problem
And the same
around the Darling Son of God, in his line of forefathers! But
He saved them all!
It sure is
interesting when we read these Old Testament stories with a
glance over our shoulders at the Cross!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
These ladies
are mentioned by Matthew to emphasize their worth! He
writes his Gospel mentioning women in a world where men only
were recognized as forerunners of any significant child. It's as
if the Holy Spirit wants us to see the beauty of four saved
women, along with dozens of men ... named in the godly line!
LESSON 15,
CONCLUSION ... WISDOM:
The whole
incident we've been studying, 1st Kings 3:16-28, has included
only three characters. Not counting the babies of course, one
dead and one still living. But they have no speaking part in the
account anyway.
And
two-thirds of our cast here, the women, are never even named!
It's always the "first" Mother and the "other" Mother, such
anonymous terms.
Here's my
point.
The subject
of the "bring the sword and divide the baby" Text is no one but
the King! That's King Solomon. This Bible event is a showcase
for the King's newly acquired Wisdom, a recent Gift from God.
Notice that
last verse in the chapter again. "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." 1st Kings 3:28
The King,
folks saw that God's Wisdom was in him!
A whole
situation, a whole tragedy, a whole episode ... manifesting a
spiritual trait in a person's life!
Our God does
that.
In my
estimation the whole Book of Job is so designed. It's not about
Elihu or Bildad or any of the others. Its focus is the godly
old patriarch Job himself! God is displaying a trophy of
His grace and a sterling example of believing Faith!
Same with the
Gospels, the whole New Testament really! All about Jesus! The
miracles, the sermons, the missionary trips, even the prophecies!
And truth be
told, even Church difficulties may be allowed of God to reveal
genuine spiritual maturity and character in the life or lives of
some of the Believers there!
Paul as much
as says so in 1st Corinthians 11:19. "For
there must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you."
Splits
and divisions will happen! They must! But why? Look at the
verse! So certain "approved" members of said church may be
"manifest," be highlighted, be proved faithful!
We would never
know who will truly "stand" for God, "stand" with the Pastor, or
"stand" in any other righteous way ... were there not
tests all along life's pathway!
And every
passed test ... brings Glory to God!
In closing,
Solomon just took a test!
And passed!
And God was
glorified!
So does God's
plan continue to this very day.
Someone
reading here this morning is taking a test from the Lord at this
vey stage of his or her life.
Be faithful!
Magnify your
Lord and Saviour!
He will bless
you for it.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
We hope you've enjoyed this
journey through 1st Kings 3:16-28, a tribute to godly Wisdom.
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