A Wise Ruling

1 kings 3:16-28
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 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. 18 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.

19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. 20 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. 21 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."

22 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.

23 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.' "

24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

26 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!"

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

28 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.
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this passage strikes me this morning. we all know that this passage comes after king solomon had asked for wisdom. now i was thinking thru the issue of practical wisdom (along with ecc 7 in the morning) , and this passage shines thru in my mind while on my way to orchard. wisdom is seen not just in the thinking, but significantly in the application process that leads to outcome or result. there are usually 2 extremes when dealing with problems: (1) sweep it under the carpet (avoidance of problems) ; (2)deal with it head on with harshness

here are some observations from this passage:
1. King solomon assume responsibility to even listen to 2 prostitutes. he could have passed this issue to someone else to settle it, however as the issue has come into his courts, he took up the responsibility to try to solve the issue .

2. did he deal with harshness? on surface, he seems to thought of a ridiculous idea of splitting the child into 2. but he made the resolve of thinking of the bigger picture; he KNOWS what goal he is working towards. He sees the sun . (ecc7: 11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.)
bottom line: know what direction you are heading and choose the most appropriate outcome you want to see.

3. he did not split up the child. of cos, he didn't . but in the course of it, you also see his power and authority, the first woman did believe he has the power to do it. do all leaders have the same power?

the lesson i learn this morning is that wisdom is to consider ALL ends of the issue. and to work towards what is the best and appropriate outcome (NOT necessarily a win-win situation). Sometimes it would be better to settle for a win-lose,lose-win situation if the issue call for it! eg. sacking a staff? removal of someone who is a disturbance in the team.

quoted :
ii. Trapp on bring me a sword: "For what purpose? Thought the standers by; wondering and perhaps laughing within themselves. The actions of wise princes are riddles to vulgar constructions: nor is it for the shallow capacities of the multitude to fathom the deep projects of sovereign authority."

They feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice: The people of Israel saw that Solomon had both the wisdom and the courage to do the right thing as a leader. This made them hesitant to disobey the law of the king.