What kind of Biblical mother do you think of when you think of Mother's Day? Of course, Mary. She was God's servant and would do His biding. There are little nuances in the story that make it even more interesting, but Mary probably pops up first in your mind. Then you might consider Eve or Sarah or Rebecca or Leah or any of the beautiful stories of mothers that decorate the Bible. If we really want to get deep and study the Word, we also need to follow up on the little things. The Bible is written to us, but the writers originally were writing to a much different audience. Things that might slip past us today that the Jewish people would have understood because it was their way of living. These are the 'nuances' mentioned above.

    And this is what makes the story in 1 Kings so compelling. You would never see this on a Mother's Day card and rarely in a Mother's Day sermon (although I have preached it). Mostly we want the sweet and tidy. But 1 Kings 3:16-28 leaves sweet behind.

1 Kings 3:16-28, 16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

    "Oh, that's not Mother's Day! That is Solomon's wisdom! She was a harlot, for goodness sake!" Yes, it does show the wisdom, but don't forget the nuances. There is more to this than meets the modern eye.

    Why were these women prostitutes? "Well, that's pretty obvious! Making money without working hard! They should have gotten jobs! Neither one deserved children!" Or so our modern mind works. But let's examine this. These women could not go on public assistance. They had none. They couldn't go back to school and get an education. Education was not for women. Women were not in the workplace. It was the rare woman who had some sort of business. They ate because they had a husband or an adult son who took her in. If her husband died, she became the charge of the husband's brother or other close relative. But it none of that was available, what was she to do? Even begging was dominated by men. There was just one job that guaranteed food on the table. "Still, they should have done something else!" When I went to seminary I looked and looked for a job. There were none to be found. Nothing. Nada. Zero. There was, however, a small field just outside of town. This field was covered in manure. The owner would hire people to come in and crawl on their hands and knees through manure and gather worms for a nearby bait shop. I really didn't want that job, but I had a wife and a baby and it was all there was available. So, I finally pulled on my nasty old tennis shoes and tattered jeans and old tee-shirt and made ready to go pick worms. You see, we will do what we have to do when we have to do it. A harlot in the Bible might not have had another choice.

    So, we have two prostitutes. They have a dispute and they take it to the king. Which is the first nuance. In ancient Israel, the king decided many of the conflicts between people. In cities away from Jerusalem there would be a judge appointed by the king, but in Jerusalem the king did most of the work himself. Imagine that kind of personal involvement by a ruler. Moving on, the first woman makes her case before the king. We will call her A and the other B. Not catchy names, but we don't have their real names. A says that they live in the same house. Doesn't say they are friends or sisters, just that they live in the same house. Likely the place where they were employed. Woman A has a baby, a son, and three days later B has a son. Presumably a short time later B's son dies because she lay on him. I have always wondered if this happened because she had resumed her profession. In any case, A tells the king that B switched the babies during the night, which A discerns in the morning that there has been a switch. B denies this and says the living child is hers. B knows there is no way to tell and she can possibly win. She needs to win. Having a male child in Israel at the time brought a certain amount of prestige. As the child grew, he could be hired out as an apprentice and this might be a source of future income. Afterall, the window for prostitution would close in time. It was vital to have a male child. 

    Solomon ponders the problem. And then he says something unheard of. He demands the baby be cut in half and each woman be given half. Imagine those gathered. Shock, dismay. Never had this been done! The king had lost his mind! Woman A is appalled. "No! Spare the child! Give him to the other!" What an example of a mother's love! But then we have the last little nuance in the story. Something a Jew would know because it was their law, but something the modern mind would not consider. Woman B says to go ahead and cut the child in half. Why was this? Was she really that evil?

    Evil, yes. But also cunning and greedy. The Jews had a law called the Kinsman Redeemer. This law said that one who killed someone by premeditation could be killed themselves by the nearest kin of the deceased, unless the one who killed could reach a city of refuge. There they would be tried. If found guilty, they would be killed by the nearest kin when they left that city. If they were found not guilty by reason of self defense or the action having come about as a crime of passion, they would be free to pay restitution to the avenging kin and then be on their way. Woman B would know this. The king would not be held to premeditated murder but would pay restitution. So, for woman B, this was easy money. Solomon was on his way to being the richest man in the world. Restitution from him for the life of the baby would be great and would go to both women. Woman B was likely counting her shekels as she stood there.

    Of course, Solomon knew that to the real mother the restitution would mean nothing while the fake mother would embrace the idea. This was the wisdom, and that is the principle point of the story. However, the subplot centers on a mother's love. Hannah willingly gave up Samuel so he could be raised by the High Priest. Jochebed set her son adrift down the river to where Pharaoh's daughter was bathing, thus believing she was giving her son Moses up so he could be saved. True acts of love, but no more pure than this prostitute who was willing to give up her child so that he might live.

    No one is perfect. No matter how high we might raise our mothers up, they are, or were, still flawed. But a good mother has a love so pure for their children that there are no words to describe it.

    Thank you, ladies, and happy Mother's Day!