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.
Two women come before the king with one living baby between them, and one of them is lying. Their babies were born three days apart, and verse 18 adds the fact that makes the case impossible: no one else was in the house.
A court open to the lowest
The two women who bring this quarrel are prostitutes, yet the king hears them out. One writer notes what could not decide the case:
H. L. RossierThough it concerns prostitutes, nothing changes this judgment. People always let the character of the speaker sway their judgment; it is not so with God. What matters to Him is the heart, not the outward character. The question was not which of the two women was more worthy — both were prostitutes. Nor was it whether the acts they complained of were likely, or had even happened — there had been no witness to it. Nor was it whether the true mother could recognize her child by some outward sign — there were none.
Word against word
Verse 18 shuts every ordinary door. No third person was in the house, so neither woman could call anyone to back her story.
Leslie M. GrantThey had brought the babies with them, but there were no witnesses. We would think someone else must have seen which child was born first. However, Solomon did not need other witnesses. He called for a sword, and commanded that the living child should be cut in half, with each mother having a half. Of course this would not be a satisfactory arrangement, but Solomon knew who he was dealing with. The real mother protested strongly, saying she would rather the other woman take her child than have the child killed.
Wisdom that reads people
Since nothing outside the two women could settle it, the king had to read the women themselves. One writer compares his wisdom with David's:
William KellyHe perfectly understood the heart of man; David entered into the heart of God. There was the difference. Solomon understood the heart of man well — no man better; no man so well. God has used him as the vessel of the deepest human wisdom that even the word of God contains. I call it human, because it is about human affairs.
The order he gave sounded cruel, and no one in the room could see where it was going.
William KellyDid one soul see into his heart when he asked 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 was not, but who could have anticipated it but the king? What sounded cruel turned out wise and kind.
Love gives the verdict
What the sword exposed was not a fact but an affection. One writer states the principle the king applied:
J. T. MawsonThe king's judgment was this: self-sacrificing love has a right that cannot be taken away — the right to have and enjoy what it loves. And all the power of his throne lay behind his judgment to give effect to it. Solomon's judgment declared the law of God's universe, and there is no greater law than that.
One writer applies the same test to the claim to belong to Christ:
H. L. Rossier"Divide it," says the one who is not the mother, giving way to her resentment. A person quickly sacrifices Christ when it is a matter of satisfying his own passions. Only divine wisdom can tell whether a profession of faith is real, and it judges by the state of the heart. How often there is profession without reality!
A King still to come
Commentators also read the scene forward. Some see in Solomon's decision a sample of a greater King's rule:
J. G. BellettHe will rule or judge wisely, as expressed by Solomon's decree between the two prostitutes. And the sceptre of righteousness in His hand will secure peace.
Others point the other way. The case itself shows that Solomon's reign, for all its splendour, was not the perfect one:
W. W. FeredayIt is unthinkable that such a squalid case could ever be brought to Solomon's greater Son for judgment.
Summary
- No witness. The two women were alone in the house, so no outside evidence existed and the case was one word against another.
- No favourites. Both women were prostitutes, so worth settled nothing. God weighs the heart, not reputation.
- No proof needed. The king did not look for more witnesses; he created a test that made the hidden heart speak.
- Love answers. The woman who would rather lose her son than see him killed proved she was the mother. Self-sacrificing love holds the right to what it loves.
- A greater Judge. Commentators see a picture of the King who is still to come. They also see a reign that fell short, since such a case reached the throne at all.