It’s Time To Use Your Sword

1 Kings  3:16-28    (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 3:16-28.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 3:16-28 (NIV)
¹⁶  Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
¹⁷  One of them said, “My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me.
¹⁸  The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
¹⁹  “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.
²⁰  So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.
²¹  The next morning, I got up to nurse my son–and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
²²  The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.
²³  The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'”
²⁴  Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king.
²⁵  He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
²⁶  The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
²⁷  Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
²⁸  When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

On verses 16-28:  As proof that God had answered Solomon’s prayer for a wise and discerning heart, here we see Solomon displaying superior wisdom in dealing with a difficult situation where two prostitutes argue over who is the true mother of a newborn baby boy.  Since neither side would budge, Solomon asks for a sword and orders that the child be cut in two.  One of the women cannot bear to see the baby boy cut in two and asks the king to give the baby to the other woman.  King Solomon rules that the surrendering woman is the real mother.

What can we learn from this?  When Solomon did not know which side to listen to, he asks for a sword.  Similarly, when you face a question where you’re not sure what the answer is, ask for a sword; that is, look to the Word of God.  Over and over the Bible is likened to a sword.  Paul calls the Word of God the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).  As the writer of Hebrews says “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” 

So when in doubt, get out your sword, the Word of God.  You’ll find the answer you’re looking for when you learn to use this sword effectively.

Father, thank You for giving us a sword by which we can defend ourselves against Satan’s lies and distinguish what is true from what is false.  I pray that I would handle the sword of Your Word wisely and effectively, both for my benefit and strengthening and for the benefit and strengthening of others.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!