1 Kings: Walk Before Me FaithfullySample

How can you tell a person is wise? What is wisdom? In the preceding section, God said he would give Solomon the wisdom he asked for (v. 12), but how can this be seen to have happened? 

The story of the two prostitutes is famous. Each argues that the living baby belongs to her. We are drawn to have sympathy for the first woman and not for the second. Solomon sums up the case in verse 23, and calls for a sword to divide the living baby in two (v. 24). In effect, he is saying that one cannot decide between the two opposing stories. Solomon has already used a sword to kill people in the previous chapter. Not again, surely?! 

The different reactions of the two prostitutes expose to whom the child really belongs. Interestingly we are not told earlier which of the women is telling the truth. Yet here we see the real mother plead for the child to live, while the other woman does not (v. 26). Thus Solomon solves the matter and identifies the real mother (v. 27). 

Notice that Solomon’s God-given wisdom is not intellectual ability alone. His wisdom is moral, exposing the truth that upholds justice. Not only is this so but his wisdom cares even for lowly prostitutes and babies. True wisdom, which begins with the fear of the Lord, is evident in the things that the Lord loves and demands. 

Our world often thinks of wisdom as intellectual capacity, but the Bible’s wisdom is moral and godly. Think of the Book of Proverbs, compiled initially by Solomon, and the moral life commended there. 

In biblical terms, whom do you know who is wise, and how do you see that in their lives? Are you wise? James urges us to ask for wisdom, as Solomon did (James 1:5). What does it mean for all the treasures of wisdom to be found in Jesus (Colossians 2:2–3)? 

The end result is not simply the fame Solomon gains (1 Kings 4:34) but that people ‘saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice’ (v. 28). Ultimately Solomon’s wisdom is to honour and glorify God, just as our wisdom ought to do.

Reflection

How do you exercise godly wisdom in your life?