No one knows who this Pharaoh is but Solomon makes an alliance with him, 1 Kings 3:1, which was the custom of the day, where two countries sealed their relationship through marriage. By doing this, the king of one country would marry the other’s daughters which were permissible under those circumstances, as long as those other countries gave up their gods, Deuteronomy 21:10-14.
Israel wasn’t allowed to marry any Canaanites, Exodus 34:11-16 / Deuteronomy 7:1-5. In this case, Pharaoh and Egypt as a whole would be better off because Israel at this time was the stronger nation, but both countries could easily come to an agreement about trade deals, 1 Kings 10:26-29. Solomon brought his wife to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem, 1 Kings 3:2.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the city of David.
‘The city, situated on the eastern hill, or true Zion, where the temple was afterward built, over against the city of the Jebusites, 1 Kings 9:24 / 2 Chronicles 8:11.’
The high places, 1 Kings 3:2, were common places where the Canaanites sacrificed offerings to their gods, 1 Kings 11:5-7. These high places shouldn’t have been in existence because God had commanded Israel to destroy them all many years before this because He knew that Israel would be tempted to get involved in idol worship, Deuteronomy 12:1-4.
The people had the excuse that the temple wasn’t finished being built yet, 1 Kings 3:2, but worshipping God at these high places was sinful, Leviticus 17:9. Solomon showed his love for God by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places,’ 1 Kings 3:3. We must remember that God never commanded a temple to build in the first place, it was David’s idea, not God’s, 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
Although the ark of the covenant was in a tent in Jerusalem, Solomon goes to Gibeon, 1 Kings 3:4, because the tabernacle was located at Gibeon during the days of David’s reign and the first part of the reign of Solomon, 2 Chronicles 1:3. When he arrives he offers burnt offerings, 1 Kings 3:4 / 2 Chronicles 1:2-13.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Solomon presented the victims. The priests were the actual sacrificers, 1 Kings 8:5. A sacrifice of a thousand victims was an act of royal magnificence suited to the greatness of Solomon. So Xerxes offered 1,000 oxen at Troy. If the offerings in this case were ‘whole burnt offerings,’ and were all offered upon the altar of Moses, the sacrifice must have lasted several days.’
Notice God appeared to Solomon in a dream, 1 Kings 3:5. God often appeared to men in dreams, but that didn’t always mean that God approved that person, we see this Pharaoh, Genesis 41:1-8, and Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 2:1-9. In the Old testament God spoke to people in various ways, Genesis 15:1 / Genesis 28:12 / Genesis 37:5, but in the Christian age He speaks to us through Christ, Hebrews 1:1-3.
If you could ask God for anything, what would you ask for? A new car, better health, a better job, a wife who can cook or a husband who can use the hoover! When Solomon became king of Israel God asked him that very question. God says ask me for whatever you want Solomon, and I’ll give it to you, 1 Kings 3:5 / 2 Chronicles 1:7. He could have asked for long life or even wealth, he could have asked that God kill all of Israel’s enemies, but he didn’t.
Solomon answered God and tells Him He has shown great kindness to him, his father David, 1 Kings 1:48, because he was faithful to Him and righteous and upright in heart, 1 Kings 3:6. He says God has continued this great kindness towards him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day, 1 Kings 3:6.
Notice Solomon says to God after having his dream that he is ‘only a little child’, 1 Kings 3:7. Solomon could be referring to his inexperience in judging the people, and he could be referring to his young age as king he is young. Although we don’t exactly how old he was when he became king, the Septuagint gives it at age twelve, 1 Kings 2:12, but we simply don’t know.
When God tells Solomon to ask for anything, we see in Solomon’s answer to God, that he truly appreciated everything God had done for him, 1 Kings 3:8. Solomon understands that his greatest need if he is going to have this huge responsibility to lead God’s people, is wisdom, he knows he needs understanding so that he can lead God’s people with justice, 1 Kings 3:9. Solomon didn’t request anything for himself such as long life or riches, he simply asks for wisdom to rule the people and because of this, God heard his prayer and God was pleased with him, 1 Kings 3:10.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Solomon’s enemies, 1 Kings 3:11.
‘Hadad the Edomite, 1 Kings 11:14-22, and Rezon the son of Eliadah, 1 Kings 11:23-25, whom Solomon might well have wished to remove.’
So, what did Solomon ask for? He asked for discernment in administering justice, 1 Kings 3:11-12. And God says because you never asked for any of these other things, He will give him wisdom and a discerning heart like no one has heard of before, 1 Kings 3:12 / 1 Kings 4:29-34 / Matthew 12:42 / Luke 11:31.
God was so pleased with his request, and gives Solomon more than just wisdom, He gives him wealth and honour, 1 Kings 3:13. God tells him if he walks in obedience to Him and keeps His decrees and commands as David did, then God will give him a long life, 1 Kings 3:14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The promise here was only conditional. As the condition was not observed, 1 Kings 11:1-8, the right to the promise was forfeited, and it was not fulfilled. Solomon can scarcely have been more than fifty-nine or sixty at his death.’
When Solomon wakes up he realised it was a dream and so he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and then he gave a feast for all his court, 1 Kings 3:15 / Deuteronomy 14:29 / 2 Samuel 6:19 / 1 Chronicles 16:3.
Now that he was blessed with wisdom, it wasn’t long before Solomon had to demonstrate his wisdom after receiving the gift from God. Solomon is going to use the wisdom he received from God to determine who is telling the truth. We are told that two prostitutes come before King Solomon, 1 Kings 3:16, and because he allows two prostitutes to come to him, this shows us just how kind and generous Solomon was as a king.
The first woman basically says, ‘me and this other woman live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there, 1 Kings 3:17. Three days later, the other woman also had a baby and there was no one else around, 1 Kings 3:18. The first woman continues and says, ‘during the night the other woman’s son died because she lay on him,’ 1 Kings 3:19. She then got up in the middle of the night and took her son from her while she was asleep, 1 Kings 3:20.
She then swapped the kids over, and then she took the first woman’s son to breastfeed him and lay her dead son next to my breast, 1 Kings 3:20. In the morning, the first woman got up to feed her son, but she discovered he was dead but when she looked at him closely, she realised it wasn’t her son, 1 Kings 3:21.
It appears that the woman whose son died was absolutely desperate, even to the point of taking someone else’s child. Think about this for a moment, this must be the nightmare of all nightmares for any mother. The second woman now jumps in and says, ‘no, the son who is alive is my child, the dead one is yours’.
The first woman retaliates and says, ‘no, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine,’ 1 Kings 3:22. I remember as a kid my brother broke a vase, and he blamed it on me and after half an hour of blaming each other, my mum didn’t know who to believe, so she ended up punishing us both. Can you imagine how Solomon is feeling right now with these two women arguing in front of him?
One is saying one thing, and the other is saying another thing, and we can almost picture the scene, ‘It is my baby, I want my baby back!’ ‘No! It is my baby. You can’t have him!’ 1 Kings 3:22-23. What would you do in this situation? How would you solve this issue? Remember they were in the house on their own, so there’s no one else to call on as witnesses. There are no blood tests, there’s no DNA testing, what would you do?
Notice that Solomon asks for a sword, 1 Kings 3:24. I’m sure we would be asking, what on earth is Solomon thinking about here? We would be thinking he has lost the plot, why would he give such an outrageous command? Did he really intend to cut a baby in half with a sword? 1 Kings 3:25.
I can imagine the human right activists holding up their banners and shouting, ‘no Solomon, don’t take this baby’s life, let someone adopt him.’ I can imagine others in the audience thinking to themselves, Solomon is in an impossible situation right now, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
I can’t even begin to think about what’s going through the mind of the real mother of the child. I can imagine everyone looking at Solomon and whispering to each other, how could he ever know which woman the baby belonged to?
Remember he’s listened to them arguing and making all kinds of claims. But also remember Solomon has been blessed with wisdom from above, and he knows exactly what he was doing. By suggesting cutting the boy in two so that the mothers can share him, 1 Kings 3:25, he knew that their reaction to this would make it clear to him who the real mother was.
Notice the reaction from the real mum, she was deeply moved, 1 Kings 3:26. The KJV uses the words, for her bowels yearned upon her son, which basically tells us that was unable to bear to see her son’s life taken away. She more or less says, ‘No, do not cut the baby in half! I love the baby too much to see it hurt. I would rather the other woman have my baby. I do not want my baby to die.’ She loved her son so much that she was willing to give him up to another woman just to keep him alive.
Notice the reaction of the other woman, 1 Kings 3:26. She was heartless, lacking love and she is so selfish, she more or less says ‘neither of us will have him, Solomon, just go ahead and cut him in two and that will be the end of the matter.’
A real mum can’t hide what’s inside her heart, a real mum can’t hide her emotions, a real mum would do anything to save her child from dying. In this crucial moment, Solomon’s solution not only revealed the true mother but also displayed his wisdom, 1 Kings 3:27.
Her parental instincts had shown Solomon that she was the true mother, and the boy really was her son. We can only imagine the relief and joy in this woman’s heart when Solomon ruled in her favour, 1 Kings 3:27. I can imagine tears flowing down her face as she embraces her son in her arms again. I can imagine her thanking Solomon for getting her out of this nightmare of a scenario.
I wonder what was going through the mind of the other woman at this point. From her words I think that she would be disappointed in Solomon’s ruling. I think that she would have been happier if the child was just murdered.
I can imagine her trying to sneak out the back door embarrassed because she’s now been exposed as being a liar. And look at what happened next, when everyone in Israel heard what happened they were left with no doubts that God had blessed him with wisdom to administer justice, 1 Kings 3:28 / 1 Kings 3:12.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They perceived that he was taught of God, judged impartially, and could not be deceived. What was done to the other woman we are not told; justice certainly required that she should be punished for her lies and fraud.’
So, what can we learn from this story?
1. The false mother put herself first.
I think we can all agree that losing a child has to be one of the most devasting thing which can happen to a parent. And so maybe to a degree we can understand why that woman in her desperation swapped babies when her child died. But that doesn’t excuse her selfishness in the story because she knew she was lying through her teeth, she knew all along that the child who was still alive wasn’t hers.
She even had the audacity to go in front of Solomon, plead her case, and call the other woman a liar. She put that poor other woman through hell, so to speak, just to get something which was never hers in the first place.
You remember the story of the rich young ruler who came and asked Jesus the question about the how he can receive eternal life. The young man said he’s obeyed all the commandments but know he still lacks one thing. Jesus tells him what he needs to do to receive eternal life, but the man couldn’t do it, Matthew 19:21-22. Why? Was it simply because he was rich, or is there more to the story that meets the eye?
Jesus wasn’t asking him to give up his wealth, He’s asking him to stop being selfish with his wealth. Jesus sees what we can’t see, he saw that this man’s wealth was affecting him and his life, to the point that he couldn’t put God first.
And we too, just like the false mother in the story can get so obsessed with our own interests and our own needs we put God on the back burner. And we do that in order to keep a hold of the things that are never really ours to begin with, because everything you have comes from God, everything you have belongs to God.
2. The true mother put her child’s needs first.
The true mum in the story didn’t ask for this nightmare to come into her life. She didn’t want to go in front of Solomon and try and prove that she was the child’s real mother. She didn’t ask for any of this to happen, she was forced into a situation that she would never want any mother to face.
The true mum in the story loved her son so much she was willing to sacrifice her son in order that he would live. The true mum valued her son more than herself, she put his interests before her own, Philippians 2:3-4. What would happen to our homes if we practiced Paul’s advice?
If on the way home today, I’m thinking, ‘I bet my wife has had a tough day, running the house, all the things she does at church.’ ‘When I get home, I’m going to see if there is something she needs and do it for her.’ And she’s thinking, ‘You know, I bet my husband has had a tough day, and when he walks through that door, I’m going to see if I can find anything he needs and do it.’ How would that affect our home?
What if we did that for our neighbours? What if we did that for the people we work with? What if we did that for the people in our church? I wonder next Sunday, when you walked in, instead of thinking, ‘I wonder if they are going to sing the songs I like, I wonder if they are going to do the things I want.’ What if next Sunday, when you walk in, you looked out for others interests and said, ‘what can I do for them before I get in my car and go home.’ Would that affect the church?
3. Solomon relied on the wisdom from above.
Solomon would never have known how to deal with these two women properly without the wisdom of God. He knew exactly where real wisdom comes from and he was given it in abundance. He knew that God is perfectly wise, and he knew that everything He does is perfect. He knew that every thought and idea He has, is filled with complete wisdom.
Where do you go for your wisdom? Mr Google, Facebook, the news, your friends, or family. Or do you desire the wisdom from above? Our God loves us so much that He never wants us to have a lack knowledge, He just can’t wait to share His wisdom with us, but we need to ask Him for it, James 1:5.
I remember praying for wisdom from God to help me say the right thing while I was sitting in a hospital with someone who was about to die, and God gave me those words. I remember praying for wisdom from God to help me say the right thing when I had to approach a brother who was accusing me of something, and God guided my thought and words.
Simon Kistemaker, says the following.
‘Every time someone comes to God with a request, He opens His treasury and freely distributes wisdom. Just as the sun continues to give light, so God keeps on giving wisdom. We cannot imagine a sun that fails to give light; much less can we think of God failing to give wisdom. God’s gift is free, without interest, and without the request to pay it back.’
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to make a really important decision, then just ask God for wisdom to help you make the right decision. If you find yourself in a position where you’ve just stop growing spiritually, then ask God for wisdom on how to start growing again. If you find yourself struggling to know where you belong in His church, then ask Him to help you find your place within His church.