“Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. hen this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” But the other woman said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued before the king. Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought a sword before the king. The king said, “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.” But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” 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 execute justice.” 1 Kings 3:16-28

{“It was my friend’s first camping trip with her husband, and they were lost. He tried all the usual tactics to determine direction—moss on the trees (there was none), direction of the sun (it was overcast), and so on. Just as she began to panic, he spotted a cabin in the distance. “This way,” he said as he led her back to their camp.

“How did you do that?” my friend asked. “Simple. In this part of the country, the satellite dishes point south.”}

“He tried all the usual tactics to determine direction…” Have you ever felt like this – like you have spent all of your ideas to try to solve a problem and nothing seems to be right? No one likes to feel lost when they are hiking in the woods, when they are driving in a city, or when they are trying to make their way in life. And, I know when I am in such a predicament, I wish I had a well of wisdom in which I could dip my cup and drink deeply. And the truth is, we all have that well.

Solomon had received wisdom from G-d – and this story included in the devotion is an early demonstration of his wisdom. But as wise as he was, still Solomon made some bad decisions as he moved through life. The wisest of us all will never always be right, and the most challenged will never always be wrong. What matters in life is what we learn from the right and wrong decisions we make. The story of the husband and wife on a camping trip is just such an example. Though lost in the woods, seemingly bereft of “obvious” clues, the most obvious clue has nothing to do with “mountaineering”. Instead the husband uses his skill of observation – something trivial he has observed for many years becomes the most important observation of his life – in that moment.

Sometimes wisdom comes not only out of the mouth of sages, or the mouth of babes, but from the ordinary things of our lives – that is if we are paying attention.

Pastor Dave

{The Emperor Akbar was traveling to a distant place along with some of his courtiers. It was a hot day and the emperor was tiring of the journey. “Can’t anybody shorten this road for me?” he asked, querulously. “I can,” said Birbal. The other courtiers looked at one another, perplexed. All of them knew there was no other path through the hilly terrain. The road they were traveling on was the only one that could take them to their destination. “You can shorten the road?” said the emperor. “Well, do it.” “I will,” said Birbal. “Listen first to this story I have to tell.” And riding beside the emperor’s palanquin, he launched upon a long and intriguing tale that held Akbar and all those listening, spellbound. Before they knew it, they had reached the end of their journey. “We’ve reached?” exclaimed Akbar. “So soon!” “Well,” grinned Birbal, “you did say you wanted the road to be shortened.”}

Birbal stories, also known as Akbar-Birbal stories are folk stories from the Indian tradition. Akbar The Great (1542-1605) was a Mogul Emperor in India. His full name was Jalaludden Mohammed Akbar Padshah Ghazi and he ruled India from 1560 to 1605. He was illiterate but he surrounded himself with many learned people. Birbal (1528-1583) is one of the most popular figures in Indian history. Birbal’s duties in Akbar’s court were mostly administrative but he was a close friend of Akbar. Akbar loved his wisdom, wit and subtle humor.

The Birbal story shared above is a story that mimics the wisdom of Solomon (an example of that wisdom is found in tomorrow’s devotion). We all have experienced those moments when an hour seemed like four – or four hours seemed like one. Of course the time that passed was equal, but what we were doing, or listening to, or watching made the time seem either long, or short. So instead of shortening the road, which itself would have been a miracle, he was able to shorten the perception of time itself – which some days is nothing less than a miracle. Do you have a story teller in your family – someone who could weave a tale where even time itself seemed an illusion? Jesus seemed to have such an ability – though his stories weren’t illusions, they didn’t stop time – instead they have stood the test of time – and are stilled shared to this day.

If you want to experience Jesus’ extraordinary gift of story telling, I encourage you to read Luke 15:11-32.

Pastor Dave