A Story Not Just For Mothers

Our story today gives us a clear picture about the love and attention that God gives to His children.   

There was a young boy who saw his mother looking at some old photos.  He asked his mother – hey mom, those are nice photos! The mother replied: “These are my wedding photos.” “ Really? That’s cool!” said the boy.  You were so young there Mom… you’re so beautiful.  Wait,  who is that cool dude who was with you?  Oh, that handsome guy?… that’s your father.  Really?  Woah!  That’s my father?  Then who is that bald and fat guy eating our food at the dining table?

A Wise Ruling
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 
17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 
18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 
20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 
21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.
23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 
25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” 
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

Our story today talks about the wisdom of King Solomon, the third king of Israel.  He was confronted by a difficult scenario as a case was presented to him by two mothers.  But they were no ordinary mothers.  They were something else During the olden times, the kings are the judges as well.  They make final decisions.  They are known for their wisdom and they are sought for advice and for just rulings.

BACKGROUND

·  The author of 1^st Kings is not known.  Scholars believe that it might have been Jeremiah, the prophet.

The two books of 1^st and 2^nd kings told stories of Israel for a span of almost four hundred years.  1^st Kings started with the death of King David, and the succession of his son King Solomon.   This book is a historical narrative of Israel’s history.

·      Solomon is the 3^rd king of Israel. 

He is the son of King David and Bathsheba.  He is considered the wealthiest and the wisest king who has ever lived.

·      The major theme of 1 Kings 3:16 – 27 is the wise ruling of Solomon.

This story – we all know this.  Even before we read the Bible, we already heard about this story. Lead actor – Solomon.  Major theme – wisdom from God.  In fact, if you read the sub-title of this passage in the NIV version of the Bible – it says “A Wise Ruling”.  The main topic of this passage is the ruling of Solomon.

·      King Solomon, at one point, asked for wisdom so he can govern the people well.

1 Kings 3:9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

·      Solomon had a shady past as well.  His parents, King David and Bathsheba committed adultery.

Ironically, Solomon committed similar sins of adultery in his later life.  The Bible records him to have 700 wives and 300 concubines.

·      This story personifies the love and grace of God towards His children.

While this story was about the wisdom of Solomon – that’s not where our focus would be. There were secondary characters in this story.

Look at what the story is telling us.  We all have issues.  We all have problems.  Mothers have issues.  Fathers have issues.  Children have issues.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The two mothers in this story were prostitutes! Their babies were evidently conceived under sinful circumstances. Did you notice that?  Sometimes the Bible stories that we read are in extreme circumstances. Prostitutes, Adulterers, Murderers, Rapists… why? Why do you think the Bible tells us these stories? We’re not murderers, or adulterers, I am sure nobody here is a prostitute – I  think God wants us to know that even those people who committed grave sins in their lives are NOT beyond God’s grace and forgiveness. 

We may not be murderers, so we think,  but Jesus said if we are angry towards our brothers… if we have this “hate” inside of us towards somebody we are already murdering him in our thoughts. 

We may not be adulterers, so we think, but Jesus said if we look at a woman lustfully we are already committing adultery. 

If we are worshipping other God’s we are prostituting ourselves… so is anyone innocent? Is anybody not guilty?  

These women, and their customers -- the sinful men who paid for their services, were living out of God’s will.   Both of them were actually to a certain extent, guilty.  First, they are both prostitutes. Second, they both have kids born out of wedlock or illegitimate kids.  They were born out of an ungodly profession.  The probably don’t even know who the fathers of their babies are.  Third, one of them accidentally killed her baby and took the other one while the mother was sleeping – two offenses.  The other mother, who claimed to be innocent… she is not entirely off-the-hook here, she also partly responsible,  She could have done something to protect her child while she’s sleeping.  

If you are familiar with Law, there is a well-accepted maxim in Law that says “he who comes to court, must come with clean hands.”     If you will go to court, you should not be equally guilty.  For me, both these mothers were guilty. 

Why did Solomon, king over God’s chosen people, wisest man who has ever lived… richest in the planet… even took the time to worry with these two prostitutes? He could even have them killed… first, for wasting his time and second, for committing all these sins.  But Solomon was concerned about these two women because he knew that God Himself was concerned about them.   The Bible says

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8

I don’t think we will argue that the church should be very clear on its stand for moral purity and holiness.  God said “be holy for I am holy.” On the other hand, the church should also stand for forgiveness and restoration! We should welcome anyone who is willing to repent and change their ways.  These women were not living up to God’s ideals - yet He still loved them! 

.

If the king is willing to listen to these two sinful mothers, God created this king, God who gave wisdom to this king will listen to anyone of us as well when we come to Him in prayer.  Jesus said “If you, then know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

There is no such thing as a perfect mother – just like there are no perfect children from among the rest of us.  I know sometimes our mothers make mistakes – but it there is anyone in whom we should be willing to overlook faults, it should be our mother. We should give them all the consideration and understanding in the world, why?    Because they have overlooked so many of our faults from the time even before we were young.  We need to lighten up on our  moms a little, and moms need to lighten up on themselves a little as well

The important thing we need to know – the King of kings and the Lord of lords cares for us all.  Jesus said "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

The Bible tells us that:

“his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4

God's attributes assure us of justice. If He were not all-knowing, how could He know whether or not we sinned knowingly? If He is not omnipresent, how could He know all the circumstances surrounding our  issues before Him? If He were not all-wise, how could He carry out judgment in a totally just way?  If we know God’s character, we know that He is capable of rendering a fair and just judgement every time we come to him.

In this story, King Solomon was able to establish who the real mother was.  It was simple but full of wisdom.  He said since the two of you are arguing and are both claiming motherhood to this child, let’s just cut the child in half.  I think that’s just fair, right?  Solomon does not know who the mother was so just cut the child in half, fifty fifty.  "Hating kapatid."  So if you are expecting a just judgement, that’s what you will get.  I think it is a fair judgement if Solomon stopped there but these women will not like that kind of judgement, well, at least for one of them.

 If we expect God to just employ justice in our lives, we should all be dead a long time ago.

Like what I mentioned earlier, this story personifies the love of God towards us.  First is the fact that nobody is perfect.  God is a Holy God and there is no place for a sinful human being in His kingdom. But the good news is that the king cares for anyone who will come to Him in humility.  You see, God cares for you… the same way He cares for me… the same way He cared for this women and the same way He cared for her child.  And God is not only JUST, he is also MERCIFUL and full of GRACE. 

 Like the mother in this story,

 God’s love towards us is sacrificial...like a mother’s love to her children. 

Isaiah 66:13 says  “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCF Richmond during its Mothers' Day service on  Sunday, May 10, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.

I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

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