1 Kings 3:16

Solomon knows he needs the help of Jehovah to fulfil the duties before him. Through the grace of God, he shows a state of heart about this which pleases Jehovah… The judgment he gives shows the wisdom he had asked for, and the people acknowledge that it comes from God.

Though it concerns prostitutes, nothing changes this judgment. Men always let the character of those who speak to them shape their judgments. It is not so with God. What matters to Him is the heart, not the outward character. Solomon's judgment rests on the affections the heart shows. Claims and denials were worth the same here, so judgment could not rest on them… The question was not which of the two women was more worthy — both were prostitutes. It was not whether the actions complained of were likely or had happened — there had been no witness. It was not whether the true mother could recognise her child by some outward sign — there were none.

No ruler better than Solomon shows that the heart of kings is unsearchable… Did one soul see into his heart when he called for a sword? He said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other." The false mother was as willing as the true one was not, but who could have anticipated it except the king? What sounded cruel turned out wise and kind.

It was not love for the child that moved her, but jealousy toward the other woman. Solomon knew that if she was dishonest enough to steal the child, his test would reveal her motives.

When the true mother saw the sword lifted over her child, "her heart yearned for her son." The object loved matters more to us than our love for it. This is how one tells what is real, and who the true mother is… Only divine wisdom can tell, by the state of the heart, whether a profession of faith is real. How often there is profession without reality! Where are the affections for Christ? Where is the devotion that sacrifices even its lawful advantages and rights for Him?

The king's judgment was this: self-sacrificing love has the unbreakable right to hold and enjoy the object it loves. And all the power of his throne stood behind his judgment to make it good. Solomon's judgment declared the law of God's universe, and there is none greater than it.

The sentence of death had been passed on us and the enemy of God claimed us as his; not that he cared for us at all. "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him," said the woman who was not the mother — let it perish. Satan would have been overjoyed if we had been buried for ever in the depth of hell. Then God and Christ would have lost us for ever. But the Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep.

The king's action made a deep impression on the people generally. "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." But the incident reminds us that Solomon's glorious reign did not reach perfection. No one could ever bring such a sordid case before Solomon's greater Son, God's "Holy One."