Does The Bible Say King Solomon Ordered a Baby Cut in Half?

“Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and 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…” 1 Kings 3:16-23

Solomon was the son of David. When David was about to die, he set up his son Solomon as king. “So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.” (1 Kings 2:12) Solomon would prove to be a wise king, but also a troubled king – and in fact his reign would result in the division of the kingdoms. But it all starts out good:

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Kings 3:5)

Solomon then has a dream in which G-d offers him anything he wants. This is an amazing proposition. Many in this situation might ask for riches, for long life, for many, many wives. But instead of asking for money or power, he asks for wisdom so that he can rule the people of Israel with integrity. G-d is so pleased with this response, that Solomon not only receives wisdom in spades, he also is given wealth and power besides. This is the context of the famous, and odd story about the two women who come to Solomon, each claiming to be the mother of a certain child. It’s an illustration of his wisdom — he’s a man who can see beneath the surface and discern people’s motives and character. What was Solomon’s decision about the two women claiming the baby is theirs?

“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 deeply moved out of love 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 3:24-28

Solomon’s reign, though beginning with great demonstrations of wisdom would prove to be a troubled reign. In fact, he would eventually be responsible for failed allegiances, and questionable decisions – seemingly squandering his wisdom. With great wisdom and insight comes great responsibility.

Pastor Dave

Does the Bible Say “ Balaam Had a Talking Donkey?”

“So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab. God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!” But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.” Numbers 22:21-33

We always need to remember that the Bible is filled with amazing, intriguing, and sometimes funny stories. This is the case with Balaam’s donkey. Balaam is a man residing near the path Israel was slowly taking toward the Promised Land. He is not an Israelite but he is described as a priest or prophet of the Lord. The king of Moab recognized God’s presence in Balaam, saying, “I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.” Fearing the strength of the Israelites, the king of Moab sent emissaries asking Balaam to come to Moab and curse the Israelites to rid him of the perceived threat (Num. 22:1-6).

G-d, however, informs Balaam neither to go to Moab nor to curse Israel. However, after multiple embassies from the king of Moab, Balaam agrees to go to Moab. His hosts try to bribe him to curse Israel, but Balaam warns them that he will do only what the Lord commands. G-d seems to agree with this plan, but as Balaam rides his donkey toward Moab, an angel of the Lord blocks his way – not once but three times. The angel is invisible to Balaam, but the donkey sees the angel and turns aside each time. Balaam becomes infuriated at the donkey and begins to beat the animal with his staff.

“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ ”. Balaam is similar to Moses because he manages to follow the Lord’s guidance despite personal failings at times. More importantly, G-d will find any way possible to get our attention. Most importantly, we need to be careful that we do not become so single-minded or narrow-minded that we do not realize when G-d is speaking to us.

Pastor Dave