USING THE GIFTS GOD HAS GIVEN

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In Christ, Mark

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Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 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. 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.”

During the night, this woman's son died because she lay on him. 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. 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."

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.

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.'"

Then the king said, "Bring me a sword."

So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

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!"

Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

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.

1 Kings 3:16-28

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As 1 Kings, chapter 3 opened, we saw the Lord offer Solomon the opportunity to choose anything that he wanted and in response to that request, Solomon only asked for a discerning heart so he could rule the people wisely.

Well, you’ll remember that God granted Solomon’s wish, granting him the legitimate kind of discernment…the kind that comes from Him and Him alone. Given this, the wisdom of Solomon wasn’t from himself but rather from the Lord who provided it to him and as we see in today’s scripture passage, it didn’t take very long before Solomon got to put God’s gift to the test.  

For we read that “two prostitutes came…and stood before him” with a dilemma. Each took turns stating their side of the case.

The first said:

“My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 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. During the night, this woman's son died because she lay on him. 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. 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."

After the first prostitute finished framing her accusation, the second responded:

“No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours!”

And the other then retorted, saying:

“No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine."

And so the scriptures tell us they “argued before the king”, each standing by their side of the story.

Well, obviously one of the women was lying.

Either the child did belong to the first prostitute and was stolen by the second prostitute after she accidentally killed her own child.

Or the first prostitute’s child died and she claimed the second woman’s as her own.

How would Solomon determine who was telling the truth?

We see that he used his gift from God for only a man granted special wisdom and discernment could respond to this matter as Solomon did. For after restating the basic tenets of the argument, Solomon asked for a sword before giving the following order:

“Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

Whoa!

That had to get everyone’s attention in a hurry.

Was the new king of Israel really going to have a young baby cut in half? Even more so, was the Lord approving of this?

Well, the very unorthodox and shocking command had its intended outcome. For as we go back to the scriptures, we read where the first prostitute, the one who we read was “filled with compassion for her son”, cried out:

"Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"

Meanwhile, the second prostitute, the one who had been accused of killing her own son and then swapping him with the other woman’s live baby, proclaimed:

“Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

And with that, the case was solved.

For the true mother…the first prostitute…was willing to see her son live even if she had to give him up to the other woman. Such was the depth of her love for him…a love that could only come from his real mother.

But the second prostitute…the one who had stolen the child because she had accidentally killed her own...had no true love for the baby because he wasn’t truly hers. Thus, it was easy for her to want to see him killed so neither woman could have him.

Given how things played out, we see where Solomon “gave his ruling” saying:

“Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

And with that, justice was served . We read where “all Israel heard the verdict” and “held the king in awe because they saw that he had wisdom from God”…all because had used the gift that the Lord had given him.

Friends, like Israel’s king in this passage, we all have gifts that the Lord has been imparted on us. Some of us, like Solomon, recognize those gifts and maximize their use in a way that seeks to glorify God and make a difference in the lives of others…like he did with the first prostitute and her child. But unfortunately, there are others who either never try and realize their gifts or maybe worse yet, realize them but choose not to use them. Either instance is equally wrong and has to be totally unacceptable to God…the One who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift from above (James 1:17).

With this, where do you stand today? Have you identified the gifts God has granted, always seeking to use them to His honor and the good of others?

Or are you squandering all the good He wishes for you to do in His name, turning your back on the talents He has bestowed upon you to make a difference in His kingdom here on earth?

Trust that the Lord knows which side each of us are on and if we have any wisdom at all, it should tell us not to end up on the wrong side of God.

Not now…not ever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.