1 Kings 3 (Part 2) Bible Study (Solomon's Wisdom) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Those who honor me, I will honor. Those who despise me, I will lightly esteem. One of the primary ways that you honor God is you honor his word. You love his word. You tremble at his word.

You consider the word of God the voice of God. And we are going to hear from the voice of God today in a exciting chapter in first Kings. So meet me in first Kings chapter three as we posture our hearts to hear from the living God in first Kings chapter three, and we are going to begin a study starting from verse sixteen, first Kings three verse 16. Father, we bow before you in our hearts, and we pray for a special help from the Holy Spirit. Lord, we are privileged to be students of your word.

But, Lord, you call us more than just students or servants. You call us friends. Thank you for making us friends. Thank you that you've adopted us to be your children. We are not orphans.

We belong to you. And we pray that we would hear the voice of our father speaking exactly how we need to be taught and encouraged and built up, maybe even convicted so that we can reflect the image of the one that we belong to. Lord, we ask for a special unction, even in a bible study, that our hearts would be gripped by the truths in this time together. And we pray that you would be exalted and blessed and honored in it all. In Christ's name we pray.

Amen. Prayer is a privilege. Prayer is a treasure for the Christian. Prayer is often the object of much scorn and mockery by those who deny God altogether, but what is the object of scorn is the delight of the Christian, the saint. And one of the things that makes prayer such a privilege is that it is God's invitation to us to come to him and to open our hearts and to pour out what's in our hearts at his caring feet and to be assured every single time that we do not have to go to a brazen altar, we don't have to bring specific types of animals, that at any place, any time, we can commune with God, and we are promised his listening ear.

But the exciting thing about prayer, beyond that, beyond the access we have with God, as amazing as that is, is that prayer will be answered. God responds to prayer. He delivers. He will move. He will act.

He will respond to consider this, the creator and the sustainer of the heavens and the earth will actually bend down and act upon the desperate request of a creature. And you and I, beginning in chapter three of this, witness a man who prayed. We studied a man who realized the the great responsibility he had as a king and could not fathom pursuing and advancing in that calling apart from God's help, God's hand on his life, and so he prays. He asks God for his help. He asks God to be endowed with certain discernment and skills.

And what you and I are going to see now for the rest of this chapter is God answer that prayer. Oh yes, God told him that he was going to do it, but now we're going to see that answer materialize. We're going to see it now manifest. And that makes it a thrilling study because apart from salvation, I can't think of a more thrilling experience than knowing that God in heaven can actually answer and intervene in my life when you and I pray. God is gonna answer Solomon's prayer.

Solomon prayed. God answered and promised to provide and do more, and now we are going to behold how God is going to allow Solomon experience that answer in a very dramatic scenario. Solomon now is going to know the endowment, the enablement that has been assured by God in and through him. And what we're going to do is really just read the case that's going to pull on the wisdom that Solomon received from God, but let's make this interactive, shall we? I'm going to read these verses before we see how Solomon's wisdom interacts with it, and let's try to investigate and and draw insights and details, not just mere observations, but perhaps even some kind of instruction in the scene before us today.

Let's read beginning at verse 16 and give your attention to this as we complete a few verses at a time. First Kings three sixteen. Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 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. 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. And this woman's son died in the night because she lay on him. 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. 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 born.

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.

Any details, anything that stands out to you that think that you think will contribute to the understanding of this passage or at least color it in a way where we can draw some principles? What things stand out to you? What characteristics? Oh, nobody else was in the house. That's repeated over and over.

We were the only ones in the house. We were alone in the house. That's going to be huge. That's going to really determine how Solomon's going to really need to draw from God's wisdom. Good.

If we can answer like that, just rapid fire, anything else standing out to you? It doesn't have to be this incredible revelation. Just observations. Yes. Very good.

Two prostitutes were able to enter and stand before the presence of the king. I believe that says something about Solomon as well. Sorry. Go ahead. Not always that.

They were arguing. They were arguing before the king, and I'll add to that. The king lets them argue, and he is silent. Good. Anything else?

These are great observations. Observations that will be noted in the study. Anything else? One's telling the truth, one isn't. That's that's obvious.

Right? We're gonna see how Solomon's gonna discover who's telling the truth. Anything else? Well, let me remind you again, this is how you and I get something from the bible. We talk to the bible in a way.

We engage with the scriptures. We ask questions, and that will make all the difference between you just scratching up a devotional time and actually getting gold from the bible. Well, let's do this together. Let's revisit verse six 16. Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Were these women moral or immoral? Immoral. Immoral. They were prostitutes. They were harlots, and they made a decision in their lives what to do with their bodies.

And the decisions that they would make with their bodies brought turmoil upon themselves. Is it not true? But not only did they experience distress in their own lives, it spilled over into the lives of others, namely these precious babies. These precious babies. In fact, one of these women was so careless with her body, and it reflected even in how she treated the body of another innocent precious child.

Because we we just read that one of these women turned over without caution and laid on top of a child and smothered that baby to death. And so we see here that there is this attitude of selfishness at play here. And one of the one of the unfortunate things about selfishness is that selfishness doesn't just affect self. Other people have to endure the suffering that comes from a person who is absorbed into themselves. And so we see that these people who made the decision to live as prostitutes, not only did that affect their lives, it affect the lives of those in their close context, but not only did it affect the lives of those in their close context, they became a stain to society.

This is this is a public affair now. This is a scandal, and how true it is of sin. Sin is not just in the air. Right? It starts in the heart.

This is where it overflows from. Jesus made that emphatically clear. And sin is slippery. Contrary to the false hope that many sinners have, the repercussions of sin cannot be contained. They can't be contained.

You can't determine where your decisions will take you. You can't determine the collateral damage that your decisions and disobedience can bring. And so we see this here, two prostitutes who lived in one home together are now on the public stage nationally, so to speak. The Supreme Court of Israel, and this is a reminder to us that the stench and the sting of sin has a tendency to spread and permeate beyond what you had hoped or imagined. May we shun it from the beginning.

At the same time, you brought it up, sister. It's interesting to see Solomon willing to engage with this dilemma as a king. You know, Solomon with his stature, with his with his, responsibility, he had every right to ignore these citizens who were a stain to this God centered culture. He could've just shooed them away and let them endure their pain, but instead, he brings them and gives them a chance to receive justice. And already, you and I have a glimpse of a king to come.

Do you not? One who is infinitely more holy and just than king Solomon, who will also receive sinners, and he will eat with them. And he will give them a chance to experience new life through repentance and faith. Here are two prostitutes who came before King Solomon, but the king of glory when you read through the page of the New Testament comes to the prostitutes. She is coming one of these women is coming to receive justice, and our king leaves the throne and comes to those who are not searching for him to begin with, and sits with them in the homes of tax collectors, in the homes where the religious leaders would stick their nose in the air and look down upon.

Already we see just just a little stitch of what makes Jesus greater than Solomon here. And now we read and we continue. What do we notice? One of these women speak up. The one woman said, oh my lord, this woman, verse 17, I live in the same house.

They live in the same house. Okay. Clearly, they don't have husbands, and it makes you wonder what kind of house this was. Probably a brothel, probably some kind of an inn where inappropriate behavior regularly took place. And so we know that this house is not a respectable abode.

It's questionable, and we we're told that they live together. And what's more important than determining what kind of home this was was the fact that this child, she says, that she born came into this world at a certain point, and this other roommate of hers had another child. And what's the days of difference between these children? Three days. Three days.

When it comes to infants three days apart, is there much significant features that distinguish them? Not really. Three days, very little to work with. If this one baby had been a few weeks older you wouldn't even have controversy here. But you have two children, you have two babies coming into this world three days apart, very difficult to even distinguish.

I mean only a mother can look closely and see the difference as she confesses later. But in terms of what this means for Solomon, you have very little evidence to work with in terms of making a right judgment. And if it wasn't difficult enough to have very little evidence, we heard it from our brother, you have no eyewitnesses. What does she say over and over again? She says it here at the end of verse 18, And we were alone.

There was no one else with us in the house. Only we two were in the house. No evidence, very little to work with in terms of evidence, and no witnesses. This is what Solomon has to deal with. How will he make a right choice without risk?

How will he solve this? Where can he go with this? All he has now is two contradictory statements being made, and you gotta pick one. You gotta choose someone. And this is what thrilled my heart when when studying this.

Out of all the potential circumstances and predicaments, this is the one that the Lord brings to Solomon to prove that his wisdom is in fact true. It couldn't have been a little bit easier. No. He gives them an almost impossible puzzle. For what purpose?

So that when the solution would come about, Solomon would be absolutely convinced that the wisdom he had was exceptional and given by God. There would be no room for doubt that if God will come through with what I asked for, then certainly I have received my answer. I want you to never forget that when God in his providence places you before something that seems absolutely impossible to resolve, because that is by design as you walk in obedience to his will. Remember this as a principle that if I am standing before something that seems to be a tight and tricky trial, how am I going to get out of this one? Understand that by design, God led you there so that when you do come through, and you will as long as you hold his hand, both you and all the witnesses in your world will be able to say, God did this.

God did this. And that's why James can say something so bold as count it all joy, my brothers. When you face trials of various kinds, What specimen what kind of human being can actually count it joy when you face a trial? I'll tell you which one. The Christian.

Not because of the Christian, but because of the Christ in the Christian's life. And so you really can't lose as a Christian in your pilgrimage because even things like this that seem like you don't know how you're gonna get out of this. You don't know how God's gonna be glorified in this. You don't know how you're gonna be able to exemplify Christ likeness in it and come out successful, come out shining with his glory, you will. Because God oftentimes brings us to these moments so that you would come out believing him more, confounding others who might have doubted him.

This is where Solomon's at. This is immediately following his request to receive wisdom, and God says, I'll show you wisdom, and I'll show you that I'm with you, and I'll prove myself in and through you. Here are a couple of prostitutes with no witnesses, with little to no evidence. Now watch me work. Watch me work.

So you can smile, my brother. You can smile, my sister, because if the Lord is with you, then he'll bring you through. And that's what Solomon's going to experience in a moment here. But look at this scene, this interesting scene in verse 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. So an argument breaks out in the throne room, and that is often the case with people.

This is an extreme situation, but tense relationships, accusations, lies, personal offenses are unfortunately far too common. Especially believer, listen to me very carefully. As long as you live in community, what you see here between these two women going at it back and forth will be something that you will witness on more than one occasion. I'm just preparing you. And what we need is what Solomon has here as we do life with other people.

Solomon's a leader. He's a king. He has governing authority. He has a different kind of responsibility, but this this kind of context and situation is something that you and I share into some extent. When we deal with people as Christians, and we're called to bear one another's burdens, and we're called to confront sin, we're called to listen to those who need some advice, we need wisdom.

You and I need wisdom from God, or else we'll do damage to ourselves and damage to others, and ultimately damage to the testimony of Christ. And so this is not just you and I studying an interesting story and applauding it from a distance. This is you and I saying, okay. Yes. Solomon received a a wisdom that will never be repeated, but there is still an invitation for me to receive wisdom.

And I wanna show you that some Solomon is exercising a wisdom that can be reflected in our own lives before he even utters a word. I believe Solomon is operating in wisdom before he even says anything. You say how? Look at the last part here of verse 22. Thus, they spoke before the king.

Solomon's wisdom here is in his silence, In his silence. He has two women here. They're both claiming something, contradicting each other, and Solomon on his throne, lets one speak her mind and share her perspective, and lets the other speak her mind and share her perspective. And this man is living out the principle that you see in two verses in one chapter of the book of Proverbs. The one is Proverbs eighteen thirteen, and the other is a very well known one in Proverbs eighteen seventeen.

Wisdom is not given to everybody, but it is required of everybody. You and I are called to be a wise people, and so let's glean some practical wisdom. Here are a couple ways that you can assure yourself, you can measure wisdom in your life. Proverbs eighteen thirteen reads, if one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. If one brings an opinion, a judgment before taking the time to gather as much necessary data, it's foolishness.

It's foolishness. And oftentimes, people wanna try to prove their wisdom by interjecting halfway through somebody's explanation to try to show that they are prophetic in some sense, I guess. I don't get it. And the bible says, no. No.

No. You have to actually wait and hear before you give an answer. And part of waiting and hearing before you give a judgment or opinion I'm telling you, so many Christians have made a mess of so many relations because they refuse to be wise in this respect. One of the ways in which you and I listen carefully before we give an answer is verse 17. What does verse 17 say?

The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him. The one who states his case first seems right until another comes and examines him. So part of listening is also including different perspectives, depending on the nature of the situation. And how providential is this in a time in which we are receiving hourly updates on a world scale? There seems to be this pressure to make statements and to give commentary on absolutely everything that comes your way.

You don't need to do that. You don't. But because everybody's been given a platform, right, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Because people who should have a voice can now have a voice, and people who shouldn't have a voice. They unfortunately have a voice.

Be be careful. Be wise. There's wisdom in silence. There's wisdom in stepping back and examining. There's wisdom in taking your time.

Instead of allowing your emotions to spring you into statements, to make judgments only to find ourselves to be foolish and shameful. And so we're we're living in a different era of world history now. Again, because everybody has a platform, and now not only your own little world, not only your family, now you you are given access to what's happening across the world. And so be very, very careful because what you and I say and do ultimately reflects the one that we love and serve. I don't wanna be too specific in this.

I I think I I'm communicating clearly enough. And Solomon here is showing that as a general rule, when you and I are presented with a predicament of problem, especially in our own world, listen. Ask, listen more, inquire more, and patiently endure the temptation to try to give a premature opinion or judgment. Because if you and I desire to be wise, then what I just explained from these two verses will help you do this, and applying it will clear your understanding so that your vision will be more precise in order that you can provide a more specific and sound suggestion or an answer. And so Solomon does here, look again in verse 23 of first Kings.

Look at verse 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. What's Solomon doing there? He's making sure he got his facts right.

I just wanna make sure I'm clear here. So this is what you're saying, and this is what you're saying. And once that was affirmed, he was able to now execute in wisdom in wisdom. Don't make decisions with your feelings. Please, please don't do that.

Right? Ask the lord for the ability to make statements, decisions, moves, reactions, interactions with truth with truth. And the more truth you gather, the more confident you could be in your answer, the more you save yourself from looking like a fool. Is this what I'm hearing? This is what you're saying about the child.

This is what you're saying about the child. The silence here tends to agree that this is the case. And I could not help but also, at this point, think about Jesus. Think about Christ and how he is greater than Solomon. Do you know how?

Because Christ will one day return as king. And when he returns as king, he will return as the king who judges the whole world. He'll be a righteous dictator. And the beauty about king Jesus, which is often found here prophetically speaking, at least in types and shadows with Solomon, is that he does not need to, and he will not need to do what Solomon does here and what you and I have to do on a regular basis. Let me prove that what do I mean by that?

In in Isaiah 11 verse one and three, this is a picture of Christ in terms of what he will do, his ministry, what it would look like. And in these first three verses, you have what Christ will do in his first coming and also what he will do in his second coming. Let me read these verses with you. Verse one of chapter 11. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. Well, the fear of the Lord can't be what most people think the fear of the Lord is if Jesus delighted in it. This might disturb you, but it's okay. It's bible. Do you realize that Jesus Christ and humanity fear the Lord?

How many of us viewed Christ that way? How many of us understand Jesus in that sense? Jesus Christ feared the father, and he delighted in it. So clearly, the fear of the Lord is a good thing. I'm very passionate about the doctrine of the fear of the Lord, if you can't can't tell.

And this is the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit. You see this later on in Revelation, the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit. It's explained here in Isaiah 11, but notice this in verse three, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear. So when Christ does come and he will come as king, there would be no outward appearance or persuasive speech that will alter or influence the accuracy of his assessment of every single problem that will come before him as king.

Jesus doesn't need a jury. Jesus doesn't need eyewitnesses. Jesus doesn't need security footage. Jesus doesn't need fingerprints. Why?

Because the Lord Jesus knows what is in the heart of man, and he can discern perfectly the depths of the human heart. Oh, and when he comes to rule and reign, how swift that justice will be, how pure it will be. No one will be able to say anything about it. No one will be able to blame him for anything. No one will be able to correct them.

He will be able to bring justice without the need to see anything or hear anything. And that is true of Jesus when he comes to rule and reign, but that is true of Jesus now. You and I can't hide from him. This is the essence of the fear of the Lord in one way. Jesus is with me wherever I go.

He's with you wherever you go. If you really believe that, you're gonna live differently. I promise you, you will. And so I can't wait for Christ to come and to bring true justice to the earth. He will come.

Maranatha, may he come sooner than later. The king on this particular occasion did not have that much to work with. He didn't have the ability that Jesus alone has, so he doesn't have eyewitnesses. He has very little evident evidence. So what does he have to do?

He has to create his own evidence. Solomon has to create his own evidence, and he's gonna do that in a very unorthodox way. On the surface, it may actually seem to be barbaric and just out of bounds. Verse 24, and the king said, bring me a sword. I wonder what the suspense was like at that point.

Bring me a sword. So a sword was brought before the king, and the king said, divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other. Was there any gasp? I don't know. Did people break out in sweat?

I don't know. But I can imagine that there was much discomfort. The king said divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other. And this would prove to be absolutely genius on Solomon's part. But, you know, somebody earlier this week, I don't even know if they knew we were talking about this at this Bible study, came with an interesting question, and I interesting question, and I presented to you.

Because we know here that Solomon's purpose is not to actually go through with this. Right? The the Solomon doesn't actually believe that this is the solution to this problem. But what he is doing here is that he is going to bring a test to measure the presence or the lack of motherly affection and qualities of a true mother. This is what he's doing.

He's about to expose who here truly has a heart of a mother. But the question was, this seems a little bit deceptive on Solomon's part because Solomon wasn't really going to do this. And the question was an interesting thought. If this is Solomon coming with a deceptive tactic to achieve his judgment, he wasn't actually going to kill the baby, but the source of this controversial approach was from God evidently because this wisdom would come from God. Does God here then promote a form of dishonesty?

Did we say lying to achieve certain ends? Do you understand the question? I thought that was a thought provoking question. How would you answer that? Any idea?

Okay. But that's testing of faith, but what about actually Okay. So you're looking at from God's perspective from concealing certain matters? Right. Okay.

So you guys now are touching on the idea of God testing us because he tested Abraham. Right? It's a test. So this is the so your answer would be this is more like a test than anything else. This is this is not this is not the Lord implementing, you know, duplicate things or he's trying to be clever and sneaky.

Would you guys agree with that? I think that's a helpful answer. This is a test. And I would take it even further than that. Because when you look at the context and consider Solomon's position and responsibility, then there's more light to be shed on this.

Solomon was a governing authority that was given the duty to do what? To exercise justice in the land, to actually cleanse the land, to even hunt for evil and to purge the land of evil. Right? That was one of his responsibilities at least. And as king, with that soul and unique authority, he was also granted with that certain approaches, certain permissions to make his task effective.

And maybe a modern example would help, because upon hearing that question, this modern example came to mind. Because in certain operations, you have our police who will undergo undercover undercover plans and investigations for the purpose of what? Discovering evil, gaining evidence that would not be gained otherwise. And you can almost say going undercover is what? Deceptive.

You're camouflaging to pretend to be something that you're not, but with a righteous end, with a righteous goal in mind. And none of us would criticize that. Right? None of us would look at that kind of a strategy and condemn it, and rightfully so. And so the way I view Solomon here, if this is a problem, you're seeing Solomon presenting this in a in a certain way, look at Solomon as a detective.

See him here as somebody who is doing an investigation. And part of that investigation is infiltrating. Right? It's to get deeper, go to the heart of the matter, discover things that are cloaked, discover things that are not easily perceived for the sake of what? Executing justice.

And God is behind that, especially for those who hold certain positions that allow them to punish evil and to establish that which is good. And so the Lord enables Solomon here because of his unique position and authority to do so and to do so very well. Yes, brother. You had your hand up. Can you read it, please?

Psalm eighteen twenty six? For the purified, you show yourself pure. And with the fruit, you make yourself seem Torturous. Torturous. Yes.

So is your question pertaining to Solomon reflecting that truth? Yes. Because they they were so he deals with them. Oh, I see. So you're saying because of the nature of their sin and how they are dealing with things in a crooked way, Solomon is responding in a crooked way as well.

Yeah. I don't know if I would apply that certain verse to this, but I think you are onto something in that Solomon has to he has to go about this in a different way to almost expose them at their level. Right? And and so he he is now doing something that is, wise and coming down to a certain level, meeting them at a certain level, and then from there, really pulling the sheets and exposing them and unveiling the true nature of their heart posture. So this is genius, and and and Solomon has all the permission to do this.

Its end is righteous. It is God glorifying, and it is good, and it fulfills his role as a king. And wisdom is the application of knowledge. Right? That's really what it is.

A simple definition of wisdom is the application of knowledge. You can be a knowledgeable person. I know knowledgeable people. They're not wise. Information that they're they're very good in being able to rehearse facts and bring things to your attention.

But wisdom is being able to take all of that and to apply it to certain situations, ultimately glorifying God. What is Solomon going to do here? Divide the living child in two and give half of the one to the one and half to the other. What is the knowledge behind this strategy that is bringing him to formulate this kind of a plan? What is he working with in order for him to bring this about?

The heart? Sure. Think deeper. Who's he dealing with here? What what's the situation?

You have two women who are claiming to be what? Mothers. They're claiming to be mothers. Solomon's dilemma is, who is the true mother? What knowledge does Solomon have here concerning a mother that is bringing him to this kind of request?

Motherly instinct. Right? Yes. Okay. And one of them is also a killer.

Alright? So hold on. You have here Solomon understanding something about the nature of a mother. She has intrinsic love, sacrificial love. Something wired in her that's willing to do anything for her baby.

Right? Any mother in here would know that. And Solomon knowing that now is taking that general truth and is going to bring it to this situation. That's what wisdom does. And as our brother said also, these two mothers are blaming each other for the murder of a child.

And the essence of this murder is that there was carelessness involved. Right? Criminal negligence. One of these ladies apparently rolled over during the night and smothered the child to death. So the way this is wired is that it would not only reveal who has this true motherly instinct and nature, but it also show who is the one who is less concerned of the life of a child.

This is wise. This is so good. This is ex Who said the Bible is boring? Shame on you. Bible is not boring.

And so Solomon now is operating in wisdom, and in a moment of suspense, the unmasking will take place. And so he makes this strong suggestion, almost in the form of a command, and verse 26 happens, 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 neither my be mine nor yours. Divide him. So let's look at these two women separately, because not only do we have the success of Solomon's wisdom before us, there's some things to learn be between these two women.

Right? So the first response is this woman the same woman who opened up this case to Solomon, pleading her innocence, is now pleading for the life of her baby. You have here the ingredients of true love. Even in this story, you can you can pluck something out of it to apply in your own understanding of what true love is. What's true love?

That you prioritize the well-being of someone else even if it's at your own expense. That you're willing to protect and provide for someone else even if it costs you because that's what love does. It gives even if in that giving you have to surrender something. Can you think of something more excruciating than a mother giving up her baby to the care of someone else, and you can't do anything about it. Can you can you imagine that?

Seeing a baby being handed over to the supervision of someone else, and you know that this person is careless. You know, this person doesn't really want this child. And for the sake of that baby's life, you're willing to pay that price. Why? Because she loves that baby.

She loves that baby. That's what love does. It surrenders. It prioritizes. It cost.

And what's so amazing about this woman is that she reflects the exact opposite attitude of many people who are pro abortion. Instead of yearning and protecting the life of babies, they see them as a burden, and they're gladly willing to slaughter them in order to protect self. You know, Paul told Timothy that one of the signs of the last days, he lists all these different vices, and one of them stands out in light of this. It's in second Timothy three three. It's in the ESV.

It's this. And you'll see it if it goes on the screen, or if you wanna turn there, you can turn there as well, that one of the marks of the last days is that there will be people in second Timothy three three who will be heartless. I like how the King James words it. Void of natural affection. Void of natural affection.

Things that are natural, like the love that a mother would have for a baby, love in your family, things that are almost just embedded in human nature. As we approach the end of all things, we become more and more rare, become less and less common. And Jesus even said that there will be a coldness of love for other people as we approach the culmination of the age. We tend to only think about rumors of wars and wars, and that is true. That is a mark.

But the quality of men, one of the marks is that they will be void of natural affection. That's a sign of the times, my friend. The fact that we've slaughtered millions and millions of babies is not divorced from prophecy. It's prophetic. We're living in prophetic times, and we tend to miss it, but Paul spells it out clearly.

And this woman here is is showing that she does have natural affection. I want that baby to live. And contrast it now with this other lady, in verse Kings 26 of chapter four in the second part, you heard it, but the other said, he shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide him. Divide him.

Can you imagine that? I mean, you've been making a case that this baby is yours, and the moment you hear that this baby can be killed, you don't even hesitate. Here's the principle behind it. She professed one thing, but her actions betrayed her. She confessed one thing, but her deeds denied whatever confession or conviction she had.

And I looked at this verse, and I thought to myself, yeah, here we go. Yet another example that time and certain opportunities will either confirm or deny the legitimacy of your confession or conviction. All it takes is time, and all it takes is certain opportunities to really show the sincerity of what you might have confessed and the convictions you might have had and even fought for, claimed to have. Wow. Isn't that fascinating?

This woman claimed to be the mother. This woman claimed to be for the love of her child, and once this was brought forth, she was exposed. Jesus speaks about different soils, and one of the seeds, the word of God would fall on rocky soil. And the rocky soil, he describes, are those who receive the word of God initially with what? Rejoicing.

That's the initial reaction. This is amazing. This is fantastic. Yes, I want to follow this Jesus. And in Luke's version we are told, they endure for a while.

Time. But when persecution arises on account of the word, they're uprooted. Certain opportunities. Certain circumstances. Here you have this woman.

She had the confession, strong confession. She was willing to go to court for it. But when the opportunity and the time came, she was exposed of being hollow and false. Why was she fighting for this child then? Any idea?

Why go through all this effort? Why put yourself out there? Why risk being exposed like this? Well, let's make this certain. Did she love the child?

Oh, please say no. No. Right? Divide the child. Let it happen.

I'll take that in half. Who says that? Who thinks like that? You would think that they would both fight for the life of the child. No.

One says, forget it. So if this woman was willing to be careless with this baby, surely she was careless with her own. And that's what it reveals. That's the wisdom of Solomon here. Look at the difference here.

You have one mother who reflects selfless love, and you have another woman who reflects selfish ambition. One is so beautiful. The other one is so ugly. May the spirit of Christ conform us to that which is lovely. Look at verse 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. I would love to be in that courtroom to see the faces of people. I would love to see the woman of that mother who was faking it the whole time. Did her jaw drop?

Did they all break out into tears? We're not told. But what we are told is verse 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. When God gifts you with something, when he empowers you in a certain way, not only will he confirm it to you one way or another, he'll confirm it through the witness and the testimony of other people.

Remember that. Listen. If you believe God has given you a calling, he's giving you something special, something supernatural, you don't have to parade it. You don't have to advertise it. People will eventually recognize it and see it, And that's the best way to do it.

That's the best way to do it. Just trust in God's providence in leading your life that it will be identified. And let me give you a hint, that if you're a person that's wondering how is it that I can identify the gifts in my life, God has ordained that the primary place for that to be recognized is within the local church. Because this is the primary arena where your gifts are recognized and are utilized and other people benefit from it. So if you're a person, again, who is eager, lord, what is it that you have for me?

How have you furnished me? What is it that you want me to do? Well, the longer you stay in the local church, and the more you build relationships with people, and the more you respond to opportunity to serve, the closer you will come. And if you're a true Christian, I'm sure you wanna know why you're here on the earth. Side note, not really in the main part.

Everybody saw the wisdom that Solomon had. A unique story, a unique measure of wisdom, but an invitation for us still to access wisdom for ourselves. I wanna end here on this New Testament text. Turn with me to James chapter one. I referenced it earlier.

Many people know this verse, but they don't understand the immediate context of this verse. Look at James chapter one verse two. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know, James one verse three, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Now it doesn't end there. So what's the what's he talking about here? He's talking about what? Christians going through trials. Is that does that tell you and I that we're gonna go through trials?

Yes. You're gonna go through trials of various kinds various kinds of trials. It might not look like the next person beside you because you have a unique family. Right? You have a unique marriage.

Right? You have special children. Right? You work at a specific place. Right?

So it's various kinds. That's encouraging to you and I, not just certain kinds of trials, various kinds of trials. There's a spectrum of suffering that this is for. But I can rejoice. I can count it all joy, but that joy also is not just in the truth that I can see the end of it.

There's gonna be something produced in me as result. But look at verse five. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Is James starting a random thought after this? No.

No. No. No. This is tied into the fact that he just finished saying, when you go through trials, Christians, count it all joy. So the instruction is still within the context of you and I going through trials.

And one of the things that I do in trials, one of the commands that God gives me as I go through these tribulations is not just to, by faith, count it all joy, but to ask God for wisdom. So the asking God of wisdom is within the context of me going through a trial. When I go through something that, like Solomon, seems difficult, unanswerable, challenging, uncomfortable, I am commanded that if I don't know what to do, how to respond, how to pivot to ask God for wisdom. So here's what this tells me too, that when I go through trials, God allows trials, God expects me to talk to him. God expects you to talk to him when you go through a season of trials.

And it could be that many people keep going through trials because you haven't caught that yet. You still don't know how to go to him and talk to him in your trials. Lot of stubborn people. I know a lot of strong people, and that's not a compliment because it takes so much for them to get on their knees and to ask God. But here's the invitation.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask God who gives generously to all to do what? To know how to navigate through this trial primarily. To have to come out of the most successful, the shiniest you can come out of it because that's what wisdom will do. Wisdom will protect you from making pitfalls, from making foolish decisions, and will bring about the greatest success in your sanctification. If any of you I love that.

Not just kings and not just pastors. If any of you lacks it, let him ask God. When was the last time you endured turbulence relationally in the context of the church, and you stopped, and you asked God, God, I need your wisdom. I don't know how to do this. My flesh is telling me this.

God, this is a very tangled and complicated thing. Like Solomon, I have to make a choice here. I have to stand on one side here. The nature of my status in this mess is that I am required to answer to it. Lord, give me wisdom.

Please. That's God's will. Notice it's not a suggestion. Right? If any of you lacks wisdom, if you feel like it, you can you can call God.

No. Let him ask. It's an invitation, but it's also a command. You're you're commissioned to come to the Lord. And here's the beauty of it.

He will bring about and deposit in you something for that specific trial. Some of you are very young here, so you're hearing this and you're thinking, okay. Live life long enough, and this will be a treasure. Do life with professing Christians long enough, and this will be a refuge for you. But I even say as the world is going through many trials and as Christians are stuck in the middle, let's ask God for wisdom, and he will give it to us.

Lord, we thank you for this Bible study, and we thank you that in this small portion of scripture, you have awakened our hearts to the beauty of your wisdom. It's very possible, Lord, that there are people in here who are suffering in one way or another, and they feel like they're suffocating because they don't know what moves to make next. They don't know how to answer. They don't know how to counsel. They don't know whether they should give or not give.

They don't know whether they should keep or not keep. They don't know if they should respond or not respond. Lord, we ask for all the things that we might be going through, things that are unspoken, unknown to our neighbors. Give us wisdom. Give us wisdom.

And help us believe that when we ask you, you can answer. That you are a God who says, if any of you, to the least, to the greatest, to the minister, to the stay at home mom. You are willing to give the same gift, and we pray we would know what to do. Lord, as we go tomorrow to serve you, give us power, energy. May we be like Stephen and have our faces shine like an angel.

And may people witness a people who are not of this world. A royal priesthood. Those who are unashamed and bold for truth, those who have the same crisis mother, who in love are willing to sacrifice time and energy to say, let that baby live. And so, Lord, we thank you that your word is eternal. It is timeless.

It applies in every way for all things in all generations. Lord, we wanna glorify and give you thanks as we worship you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Let's stand, fellow soldiers in Christ.