the books of kings of the Old Testament, present the history of the main men who ruled the kingdom of Judah. There, the Bible records both the good and bad deeds of every reign there was, from Saul, the first king, to Zedekiah, the last ruler of Judah. But among all these kings, Solomon was one of the most outstanding for his wisdom and wealth; in fact, the Bible says that from the time of his reign: “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar wood as abundant as the sycamores of the Shephelah” (1 Kings 10:27). King Solomon, who was in charge of establishing justice and peace in his land, presided over many trials, among which one in particular stands out. We invite you to discover this Solomon’s judgment that reveals the wisdom received from God.
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Solomon’s wisdom to judge
“16 Once, two prostitutes went to appear before the king.
17 One of the women said to him, “Please, my lord! I and this woman live in the same house, and I gave birth while I was with her in her house.
18 Three days after I gave birth, she also gave birth. We were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, apart from the two of us.
19 But one night this woman’s son died, because she lay on top of him.
20 Then she got up in the middle of the night, took my son from my side while your servant slept, and laid him on her breast; her dead son, instead, she laid him on my lap.
21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him more closely in daylight, I realized that he was not my son, the one I had borne.”
22 The other woman protested, “No! The one who lives is my son!” And so they argued in the presence of the king.
23 The king said, “This woman says, ‘This is my son, the one who is alive; the one that is dead is yours.” This other one says: “No, your son is the dead one; the one that is alive is mine.”
24 And immediately he added: “Bring me a sword.” They presented him with the sword,
25 And the king commanded, “Cut the living child in two, and give one half to one and the other half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was alive turned to the king, for her heart was moved for her son, and she exclaimed, “Please, my lord! Give her the living child, don’t kill him!” The other, on the other hand, said: «It will not be for me or for you! Let them divide it!
27 But the king spoke up and said: “Give the living child to the first woman, do not kill him: she is his mother!”
28 All Israel heard of the sentence that the king had pronounced; and they felt great respect for him, because they saw that there was in him a divine wisdom to do justice” (1 Kings 3:16-28).
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King Solomon or the wisdom of God expressed
When we read this story, we come to admire this very special wisdom of Solomon, and we can even think of all those situations in which it might be necessary. The Bible tells us that such wisdom came as an answer to Solomon’s prayer: while he was sleeping, God approached him and said: “Ask me whatever you want” (1 Kings 3:5) and Solomon asked for a wise heart, capable of discerning between good and evil. God was pleased with his request and granted him beyond what he asked for. Let us remember that the Lord also told us: “Ask and will be given; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). In this regard, Santiago referred saying: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, and he will receive it, because he gives it to all generously, without demanding anything in return” (James 1:5). For this reason, let us keep in mind that the wisdom of God is a gift that we should not fear or be ashamed to ask for.