What is the Judgment of Solomon?

“ And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment ” (1 Kings 3:28).

The story was a sordid one in its beginning, but it gave to King Solomon the opportunity of displaying the wisdom of God in a judgment that the Holy Ghost has preserved in the Holy Scriptures for our learning. It is the more striking and interesting because it is the only definite instance of Solomon's wisdom from the throne of judgment that has been preserved for us.

Two women claimed a living child; which of them had the right to it was the question to be decided. It was clear that it did not belong to both of them. One of them loved it with a mother's true love, the other had no love for it at all, but coveted it because she could not bear to see true love in possession of its object. “Bring a sword and divide the living child,” said the king, and for the moment that child was under the sentence of death; the sword ready to smite hung over it. How could it be saved from the execution of the sentence? True love found the way of salvation for it, but it was the way of sacrifice; that was the only way. “Then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it.” She was prepared to sacrifice herself for the life and the good of her child. “Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it; she is the mother thereof.”

The story was a sordid one in its beginning, but it gave to King Solomon the opportunity of displaying the wisdom of God in a judgment that the Holy Ghost has preserved in the Holy Scriptures for our learning. It is the more striking and interesting because it is the only definite instance of Solomon's wisdom from the throne of judgment that has been preserved for us.

Two women claimed a living child; which of them had the right to it was the question to be decided. It was clear that it did not belong to both of them. One of them loved it with a mother's true love, the other had no love for it at all, but coveted it because she could not bear to see true love in possession of its object. "Bring a sword and divide the living child," said the king, and for the moment that child was under the sentence of death; the sword ready to smite hung over it. How could it be saved from the execution of the sentence? True love found the way of salvation for it, but it was the way of sacrifice; that was the only way. "Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it." She was prepared to sacrifice herself for the life and the good of her child. "Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it; she is the mother thereof."

The king's judgment was this — SELF-SACRIFICING LOVE HAS THE UNALIENABLE RIGHT TO THE POSSESSION AND ENJOYMENT OF ITS LOVED OBJECT. And all the power of his throne lay behind his judgment to give effect to it. It was the law of God's universe that was declared in Solomon's judgment, and there is none greater than it.

JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO MOTHERS (vs.16-28)

The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are witnesses to the wisdom of Solomon, Proverbs being the best book on psychology in existence, and Ecclesiastes the best on philosophy. In this section we are given an example of Solomon's wisdom in practice. Two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon to have him judge a controversy between them (v.1-16). The complainant stated her case first, claiming that after she had given birth to a child, the other woman had smothered her own child by lying on him at night, then had changed the babies while the first mother was sleeping. When she awoke in the morning, she said, she found the child dead, but in examining him, found this was not her child (vs.17-21).

The accused woman denied the accusation, claiming that the live child was actually hers (v.22). They had brought the babies with them, but there were no witnesses, though we should think that someone else must have seen the child that was born first. However, Solomon did not need other witnesses. He called for a sword (v.24), 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 actual mother of the child strongly protested, saying she would rather have the other woman take her child that to have the child killed. The other woman was agreeable to having the child divided, knowing that neither of them would have the child (v.26). 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, her motives would be revealed by the test he gave her.

Solomon took advantage of the fact that God has implanted within a mother an instinct of deepest attachment to her own child, which is not likely to be found where there is no direct vital relationship. Thus, there remained not the slightest doubt that the first woman was the mother of the child, and the king gave orders that the child should be given to her (v.27).

A case of this kind was of course reported widely, so that all Israel was made aware of the wisdom of Solomon, and people realized it would but be easy for them to get away with wrong doing by deception. They recognized that it was God's wisdom that was in Solomon (v.28).

After the understanding to worship before the ark, the first manifestation of his wisdom, we find in Solomon "the wisdom of God … to do judgment" (v. 28). Though it concern harlots, nothing changes this judgment. Men ever allow themselves to be influenced in their judgments by the character of those who speak to them; it is not so with God. What is important for Him is the heart, not the outward character. Solomon's judgment is based on the affections manifested by the heart. Affirmations or denials were of equal value in this case, and judgment could not be based upon them (v. 22). That which could establish judgment was the manifestation of the heart. Neither was the question which of the two women was the more worthy — both were harlots; nor whether the actions objected to were probable or had taken place — there had been no witness to it; nor whether the true mother could recognize her child by certain outward signs — there were none. The only testimony was that one of these women said that she did not recognize her son in the dead child. It was a matter therefore of judging the state of her heart, and this could only be judged by the affections manifested. One of these women had an object she loved. Which of the two had this object? For there where true ties of love exist, we seek to safeguard at any cost that which is dear to us, even at the risk of losing it for ourselves. That is the character of love. Love is not selfish: it sacrifices itself for the object loved. The love of Christ has done that for us and we can do that for Him in return: "For thy sake we are killed all the day long" (Rom. 8:36).

When the true mother saw the sword lifted over her child, "her bowels yearned upon her son." The object loved is more to us than our love for it. This is how one distinguishes reality, the true mother. In the Christian profession he who has not found an object for his heart and bowels betrays himself quickly. "Divide it," says the one who is not the mother, yielding to her resentment. One quickly sacrifices Christ when it is a matter of satisfying one's own passions. Only divine wisdom is able to discern the reality of profession by the state of the heart. How frequently there is profession without reality! Where are the affections for Christ? Where the devotion which sacrifices even its legitimate advantages and rights for Him? In this passage, it is not a question of natural goodness nor of nobleness of heart, for, we repeat, we are dealing with two harlots. It is a question of ties created by God, of an object given by Him which the soul appreciates. God will never take it away from us; to the contrary, in the trial we shall receive it afresh from His own hand. "Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof."

No sovereign better than Solomon exemplifies that the heart of kings is unsearchable. See his decision of the dispute between the mothers, whose was the dead child, and whose the living one. Was there one soul that penetrated his heart when he asked for a sword and 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. "The heaven for height and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable."

The story of the two harlots and the living babe is recorded at length as a sample of Solomon's wise administration. The suggestion to divide the babe with the sword was novel and bold, and probably without precedent in the world's history, but it brought out with such a gush the feelings of the true mother that it became perfectly clear to whom the child belonged. The king's action produced a profound impression upon the people in general. "All Israel heard of the judgement which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgement" (1 Kings 3:17-28). But the incident reminds us that perfection was not reached in Solomon's glorious reign. It is inconceivable that such a sordid case could be submitted to the arbitrament of Solomon's greater Son, God's "Holy One" (Psalm 89:19).

Although Solomon's wisdom was divinely given, it was natural wisdom, wisdom that was required to rule his kingdom well, to enquire into the realm of nature, and to be displayed before men in all that he accomplished and discovered We see his wisdom displayed in his discovery of the true mother of the living child in 1 Kings 3:16-27, in the "hard questions" that he answered for the queen of Sheba, and in the display of his glory that brought from that royal visitor the words, "It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom … and behold the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard" (1 Kings 10:1-7).

So it was with Solomon, and although this does not appear for a time, it does not fail to appear afterwards. But in the same chapter we have a striking proof of his heart carrying the stamp of God's power along with it in the case of the two women who claimed the living child. I need not dwell upon it. He 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; and God has employed 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. It is about the heart; it is about the things in the earth; but still, it is divinely given wisdom on human topics. This was just as well suited for king Solomon, as the Book of Psalms that lets the heart of the saint into the understanding of the heart of God (according, of course, to a Jewish measure) was suited to David. That is the difference. The man after God's heart was just the one to write the Book of Psalms; the man that so well knew the heart of men and women was just the person to judge in this case between the two contending mothers, as they pretend to be.

Solomon chose wisdom, and so pleased was God at his sagacious choice that he not only gave him wisdom, but also riches, and honour. Solomon was the wisest of men, yet his life only emphasizes the message that he himself gives: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5). Wise as he was; wonderful as his judgment was in the matter of the babe and the two mothers, who each claimed it; wonderful as was his erection of the temple, that most gorgeous building the world has ever seen, yet at the close of his days how be stands like a beacon warning us not to lean to our own understanding.

Solomon loved the Lord, and worshipped Him at the altar at Gibeon, and there the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Ask what I shall give thee." Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge the people wisely. The choice pleased God, and He gave him wisdom such as no king before nor since has had, and added to it both riches and honour beyond all others. If he would be obedient God would lengthen his days. His wisdom soon became apparent by his judgement in the case of the two women with the living and dead child. And people came from all the kings of the earth to hear his wisdom. The queen of Sheba came also. This is again symbolical of the reign of Christ during the millennium. It is further exemplified by all dwelling in safety, "every man under his vine and under his fig tree . . . . all the days of Solomon."