Sound argument, hunches and persuasion are not always the way to go. Sometimes a rough road has to be suggested before the right decision can be discovered.
Here in 1 Kings 3, King Solomon had a dream that he asked God for wisdom. In the dream God not only gave him wisdom, he also gave him wealth and glory. When Solomon woke he offered sacrifices to the Lord. Shortly after, Solomon is approached by two prostitutes. Both women live in the same house and gave birth to boys three days apart. During the night one of the woman rolled over on her child and he died. She got up and swapped the dead son for the living son.
When the other woman rose to nurse her son, she saw that he was dead. Then looking closely, she realized that this boy was not her own.
They went to King Solomon to decide who gets the living son. This wasn’t going to be simple seeing both woman lived under the same roof, each had a son a few days apart, there were no eye witnesses and it’s one woman’s word against the other.
How did King Solomon decide? Did he go on a hunch? Did he ask each woman an array of questions? Did he toss a coin or go with the more persuasive of the two?
1 Kings 3:23-27
The king said, "What are we to do? This woman says, 'The living son is mine and the dead one is yours,' and this woman says, 'No, the dead one's yours and the living one's mine.'"
After a moment the king said, "Bring me a sword." They brought the sword to the king. Then he said, "Cut the living baby in two—give half to one and half to the other."
The real mother of the living baby was overcome with emotion for her son and said, "Oh no, master! Give her the whole baby alive; don't kill him!"
But the other one said, "If I can't have him, you can't have him—cut away!"
The king gave his decision: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Nobody is going to kill this baby. She is the real mother."
Solomon asked for wisdom. With wisdom there’s no picking sides or favorites. The more persuasive argument isn’t always the best choice. Wisdom seeks after the truth. Ask God for wisdom, a wise and mature heart to discern between right and wrong.
God grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
