Amen. All right, well, we're there in 1 Kings 3. And of course, we've been working our way through the book of 1 Kings, and we are just in chapter 3. But we've learned a lot so far in this verse-by-verse study through the book of 1 Kings. And of course, tonight we are picking up right where we left off last week. in verse number 16. If you remember last week, we saw that Solomon received, we saw how Solomon received the thing that Solomon is best known for, which is his wisdom. And if you remember, God came to Solomon and asked him, or allowed him to ask for anything that he wanted. And of course Solomon asked for wisdom. And we saw that, learned about that last week. And this week we're going to see what happens next And what happens next, of course, is that shortly after Solomon asked for and was granted wisdom, there's a difficult court case that is brought before him. And this court case, as we'll see tonight, is going to showcase the wisdom of Solomon. And it really shows how God had granted him wisdom. And I'd like to just begin by going through this so we can see it together. And let's examine this court case that was brought before Solomon. Of course, in the Old Testament and in the nation of Israel, we know that there were judges who were national leaders, but they would also judge among the people. And the kings took these roles on as well. At times, there would be cases that would be brought to them, and specifically difficult cases is the way that Moses set up the system. There were lower level judges that would kind of take care of easier things, but as things were more and more difficult, they would be brought up to different levels. And it seems that this is a difficult case. I mean, it absolutely is a difficult case. And it comes all the way up to King Solomon. And I want you to notice that what we're doing tonight is we're really just kind of entering into the courtroom of Old Testament Israel. We're entering into the courtroom of the Kingdom of Israel with King Solomon presiding as judge. I want you to notice the parties that are involved in this case. Look at verse 16. The Bible says, Notice what the Bible says about these women. It says that they were harlots unto the king and stood before him. So we've got, of course, two parties here, a plaintiff and a defendant. The plaintiff is the person who brings a case or a complaint before the court. The defendant is the person who's being accused of something or being sued in the court. I want you to notice that we first get the plaintiff's testimony. We get the case, the complaint that is given. In verse 17, the Bible says, And the one woman said, O my Lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. So notice the Bible tells us that they were harlots. The word that we would use today would be prostitutes. And the Bible here tells us that they were both living in the same house. So these women are not living in a home with a husband. They're living in this one house together. And she says, and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered that this woman was delivered also and we were together. So these two women are harlots, they're living in a house, they're both with child. This first woman gives birth to a child and then she says three days later this other woman also gives birth to a child and notice the last part of verse 18 she says and we were together there was no stranger with us in the house save we two in the house and this woman's child died in the night so she goes on to explain why they're there before King Solomon. She says this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it and she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while thine handmaid slept and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom. So this is quite an accusation. You've got these two women they have these two babies. One dies in the night, in the middle of the night because she overlaid it and this woman is being accused of taking that dead child and swapping it with the live child. She takes the live child from the mother that has the live child and then she switches them and gives her the dead child. The last part of verse 20, well look at verse 20 again. It says, and she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while thine handmaid slept and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom. Notice verse 21, and when I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead. But when I considered it in the morning, behold, It was not my son, which I did bear." So that's the plaintiff. She gives her testimony. That's her story and her accusation. Verse 22, we see the defendant's counterclaim. The Bible says in verse 22, And the other woman said, Nay, but the living is my son and the dead is thy son. And this said, No, but the dead is thy son and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. I want to point out to you, not only did we see the testimony of the plaintiff and the counterclaim of the defendant, but just in case you missed it, I want to point to you, I want to point out for you the evidence, or what I really should say is the lack of evidence. We're told that there was no stranger with us in the house, in verse 18, so what that means is that there's no witnesses, there's nobody there to verify or confirm either one of these ladies accounts and there's also no physical evidence because in verse 18 she mentions the fact that the third day after I was delivered this lady also had a child. So there's no real way for an outside party to tell the difference between these two babies. Obviously, if one of these ladies had a baby even several weeks before the other, then a stranger wouldn't have been able to look at the baby that was alive and the baby that's dead and tell the difference with regards to their ages. But when you've got two babies and they're three days apart, there's really no physical evidence, no way to physically look at these children and determine which one belongs to the other one. there's no evidence here and I want to point out to you that I think the reason this came up you know, all the way up to the Supreme Court of King Solomon, is because the difficulty of the case, this case is a classic, what we would call a he said, she said, or in this case, a she said, she said dispute. There are no witnesses to verify either account. The case rests solely on conflicting testimony, and it requires a judge, in this case Solomon, to discern who is telling the truth. Now you and I are familiar with the story, we obviously read the entire passage in its context, but this is a very well-known story in the Bible, and you know how it ends and I know how it ends, but I would ask you to consider, and I've considered this as well, that if you and I did not, we never heard the story before, we didn't know how this story ended. If this case was brought to us, you know, what would you do? And I'll just be honest with you, I don't know, I shouldn't say I don't know, I know for a fact that I would not have came up with the idea that Solomon came up. And I would imagine if you were being truthful that you might say the same thing. It's an amazing story with regards to what Solomon does here. He's given such a difficult job here to discern between these two women. There's no evidence, no testimony, no physical evidence, and he's got to decide who's telling the truth and who's not telling the truth. And God highlights this for us because really God has given him wisdom And God uses this in the life and ministry of Solomon, and then he puts it in scripture for us to highlight the biblical wisdom that God has given him. Now we're going to go into this passage and dissect it here in a minute, but before we jump into the lessons from the passage, let's just quickly talk about and answer this question. What is wisdom? When we talk about wisdom, what is it exactly that we are talking about? And we could spend a lot of time on this. The Bible actually spends a lot, especially in the book of Proverbs. There's chapter after chapter after chapter that talk about wisdom. I'm not going to take the time to do that tonight. But I do want to just show you one verse, if you wouldn't mind. Keep your place there, of course, in 1 Kings 3. That's our text for tonight. But if you don't mind, go with me to the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 8. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely to find the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms you have Proverbs and then Ecclesiastes. Proverbs and then the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter number 8. We often think of the book of Proverbs as wisdom literature, and it definitely is, but the book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom. But Ecclesiastes is also a book of wisdom, also written by Solomon. And I want you to notice that in Ecclesiastes, he gives this verse that I think kind of explains what wisdom is, because I think it's good for us to understand what wisdom is. You know, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible also says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And I think that one thing that is important for us to understand, especially as we enter into this lesson, is that wisdom is not just knowledge. It's more than knowledge. In Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 1, the Bible says, who is a wise man? This is what Solomon writes. Of course, this is at the end of his life. He's writing the book of Ecclesiastes. And he asked the question, wise man. And the question itself is bringing attention to the fact that wisdom is extremely rare. It's rare to find an individual that's wise. And I would just, and again, you know, as humbly as I can say this, I would I think that you and I should ask ourselves whether or not there's wisdom or whether or not we have wisdom, whether or not we practice wisdom. And don't just assume that, well, of course I'm wise. I think that anyone who just makes that assumption already has maybe disqualified themselves from being a wise person. But we see here that Solomon says, who is as the wise man? And then he says this, and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. I want you to notice that he says there, who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? And I think that really highlights for us what wisdom is. Wisdom is not just the knowledge of something, the facts of something, the information of something, but it is the ability to then take those facts and take that knowledge and take that information and interpret it. It's the ability to understand. It's the ability to discern. Here's a word the Bible uses with regards to wisdom. Discernment. What does it mean to discern? Discern means to be able to recognize something, to distinguish something. It is not just the information, but the explanation of the information. Another word the Bible uses is to perceive. The word perceive means to be aware of something. see something that maybe other people don't see. That's what wisdom is. Wisdom is not just knowledge, but it is the use of knowledge in a God-honoring way. That's why the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom, I would use this term, is applied truth. It's knowing not just what to do, but it's knowing when to do it. It's knowing how to do it. It's knowing in what way the doing of such thing pleases God. That's what wisdom is. It's not just the knowing of something, but the interpretation. The meaning is that when the Bible says here, who knoweth the interpretation of a thing, the idea is that a wise person can rightly discern, they can explain a difficult matter or a situation, and life is complex and in the complexity of life, especially here in the context of Ecclesiastes, that's something that's discussed a lot, The wise person has spiritual insight, and it's often something that other people lack. So it includes discernment, not just information. It is the application. In Matthew chapter 7, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you, but I want you to hear it. Matthew 7 and verse 24, if you remember at the end of that great Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus said this. He said, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, that's the information. That's the education. That's the facts. That's sitting in a row on a Sunday morning and a Sunday night and a Wednesday night. That's sitting at a table on a Monday morning or a Tuesday morning, Lord willing, with your Bible, reading, observing, being taught, learning. Those are all good things. We need that. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But here's what Jesus said, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, that's information. And then he says this, and do with them. That's the application. He says, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. He goes on to say that whosoever heareth the sayings of mine and doeth it not. So that's the person that has the information but doesn't apply it. He says, I will liken him unto a fool. He says, you're a foolish person if you get the information but you don't do something with it. He says, you're a wise person. if you hear the sayings of mine and do with them. So I want you to understand what wisdom is. Wisdom is applied truth. It's not just knowing something. It's knowing what to do with that something, what to do with that information, how to apply that information into a real life situation, what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and in what way that pleases God. So that's what wisdom is. And I think we're going to see that in this passage, if you can make your way back to 1 Kings chapter 3. And with that, let me just say this, you know, there are people and you know this, we've got secular ways of saying this. in different ways, but there are people that are extremely intellectual, very educated, very smart, very knowledgeable, they just have an ability to maybe retain information, and they've got a lot of information, but no wisdom. You know, oftentimes the secular world, in the world, people say like, oh, that individual, they're real smart, but they got no street smarts. And what they really mean by that is that you've got someone that's got a lot of information, but not a lot of wisdom. On the other hand, you can find individuals that maybe have limited education, maybe no fault of their own, just because of where they grew up, or how they grew up, or whatever it might be. And maybe they've not had a lot of access to a lot of information and education, but because they've learned to get along with God, they just have a lot of wisdom. And they might not know as many facts as other people, but they sure know how to live life in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. And I would say to you, you say, well, if I had to choose one or the other, which would I choose? I mean, if you had to choose one or the other, choose wisdom. But let me just say this. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the strongest person is the one who has both knowledge and wisdom. That's where we find Solomon. He's very smart. Very intelligent. I'm sure he was well-educated. He has a lot of information, but more than just having information, he has wisdom. He knows how to apply it in his life. Let me tell you what you don't want. At the very least, don't be the person who has no knowledge and no wisdom. I mean, those are the worst. Dealing with people that they just don't know much, and then they also just don't have enough wisdom to know they don't know much. Understand that knowledge and wisdom are not the same thing. And wisdom is the ability to be able to perceive things, to understand things, and to know how to take all that information and apply it and use it in a way that is profitable and that is pleasing to the Lord. In this story, I want to point out for you three things that we see in this passage in regards to what wisdom does. And as we go through these, I'd like to challenge you to genuinely ask yourself, And look, I'm not trying to beat up on you, and I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, and I'm not trying to make myself feel bad either, but we should really ask ourselves as we look at this passage, am I a person that practices wisdom? Am I a person that is doing these things? Because I think this is a mistake we make when we look at a story like this, 1 Kings chapter 3. We think, wow, that's amazing. Look at what Solomon did. I could never do that. And here's the thing, I could never do that. I'm sure you could never do that. But God gives us these stories because he wants us to learn from them. And I think there are some very practical things about wisdom in this story that we can learn. And my job is simply just to teach them to you. That's the knowledge. Whether or not you and I apply them in our lives will show whether we have wisdom or not. But I'd like to give you three thoughts this evening from this story that I think will help us with regards to wisdom. And I would encourage you to jot these down. On the back of your course this week, there's a place for me to write down some things. And maybe you can do that. I've divided them under three different senses or points. And maybe this will help you remember them. But I want you to notice, first of all, The eyes of wisdom. The eyes of wisdom. The Bible says in 1 Kings 3 verse 16, it says, unto the king and stood before him. I want you to notice that when this court case was brought before King Solomon, and when these women of ill repute were brought in to bring their case before him, I want you to notice what Solomon saw, or maybe what he didn't see. Through the eyes of wisdom, we see that Solomon did not dismiss the case based on who these women were. I mean, don't you think it would be easy if someone, if you're the king, you're young. I mean, we don't know how old Solomon was, but we think that he's somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. He just became king. They bring this case to him. And I mean, obviously he just got wisdom, but what if you didn't get wisdom and you're just like, I don't know. I don't know what to do about this. I mean, there's another story. I'm not going to have you go to it, but there's another story in the Bible about another king during a famine whose women, they come to him and they say, this lady and I agreed we're going to eat my kid first and we're going to eat. her kid, we ate mine, and now she refuses to, you know, make her kid available for us to eat. And the king just kind of throws up his hands and says, am I God? Like, you want me to judge over this? You know, it would have been easy, I think, for Solomon to say in his mind, this is a very difficult situation, and these are just two harlots, right? Like, who cares? But Solomon didn't dismiss the case based on who these women were. They were harlots. They were women of ill repute. They were social outcasts. They were likely disregarded and despised by others. But Solomon gave them full access to the justice system. He didn't judge them based on their status or reputation. He judged the case. And I think here we find the first principle of wisdom, the eyes of wisdom. And the eyes of wisdom is this, that wisdom judges without respect of persons. A wise person is going to be an individual who judges a situation who looks at a situation and they judge the situation based off of what is right and what is wrong and what the Bible says. And you know the Bible teaches that we should not be a respecter of persons. Let's just run some verses real quickly if you don't mind. Go to Deuteronomy chapter number one. Deuteronomy chapter one. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter number one. I think a lot about this, it's interesting when God He shows us wisdom. He teaches us about judgment. He shows us wisdom through judgment. And I think a lot about this subject of judgment because as a pastor, I actually, and I understand that in our society, maybe this is rare, but one of my jobs is often to make judgment calls and to judge situations, of course, within the context of church. So this is something I think a lot about. I preached an entire sermon series called Judgment, where he spent several weeks looking at what the Bible teaches about judgment and discernment and wisdom. And it always amazes me, and I don't know why, I guess I just maybe think a little too highly of myself and my teaching abilities, but it always interests me how I find that it's human nature for people to judge situations, not on truth, not on righteousness, not, Jesus said, you know, don't judge things based off the appearance, but people will often, even, I find myself surprised, you know, even what I would consider mature Christians, I mean, what I would consider, this is a knowledgeable person, this person knows the Bible, and yet I find that it is so, such human tendency to judge situations based off of who you like, based off of who your friends are. based off of who you're closest to or who got to you first with the story. And I don't know why I'm so, you know, I'm always just surprised by it. You think after 15 years of this, you'd realize like, okay, this is just how people are. It doesn't matter how much you preach it, how much you teach it. It's just human tendency. But let me tell you something. If you and I find ourselves as people who we make judgment calls based off who we like, we should just jot it down that we are foolish people. Because wisdom doesn't look at the situation and say, well, these are just harlots. I mean, imagine, I would imagine that there was probably all sorts of officers and all sorts of leaders, all sorts of guards and all sorts of people, that as they were bringing these two harlots into the royal throne room of King Solomon, they were probably rolling their eyes and thinking, why are we even wasting our time? But the guy with wisdom chooses to judge without respect to persons. And you may not agree with that, but I'll tell you who agrees with it. God does. Deuteronomy 1 and verse 17, notice what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 1, 17 says, You shall not respect persons in judgment. You shall not respect persons in judgment, but you shall hear the small as well as the great. God, in His Word, told us, look, when it comes to judgments, and discernment, and perceiving, and deciding situations, you should not have respect. You know, the term respective person means that you give someone more respect than you give another person. He says, you should hear the small as well as the great. He says, you shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. And, you know, oftentimes people try to pressure you to judge in their direction. But, you know, the Bible says you should not be afraid of the face of man because the judgment is God's. At the end of the day, we should do what God tells us. And what's interesting is that obviously this is you. I think all of us would agree that, well, of course, a judge in a court case should not be partial. Of course, they should not judge with respect to persons. But how many of us live our lives this way? Keep your place there in Deuteronomy, if you don't mind. We're going to come back to it in a minute, so I'd like for you to get to it quickly. But go to James, chapter number 2. James in the New Testament. If you go backwards from Revelation, you've got the book of Jude, then 3rd, 2nd, and 1st John, 2nd and 1st Peter, and then James. James, chapter number 2. And do me a favor, when you get to James, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there as well. I know I asked you to keep your place in Deuteronomy, and I apologize. I'm going to ask you to keep your place in two places, Deuteronomy and James. We're going to go back and forth between these books a little bit. So I want you to be able to get to them quickly. But look, you say, well, I'm not in a position to judge. I'm not a pastor, and I'm not a judge. And here's the thing. Anytime you find yourself in any position of authority, you're going to judge to some extent. If you're a parent and you have more than one child, you're going to find yourself in a position of judging all the time, where your kids are coming to you and saying, She did this and she did that or whatever and you've got to sit there and sort the whole thing out. If you are a leader in your work, if you're a boss, if you're an employee, if you're a husband, you're a father or mother, these are all places you're going to judge. But here's the thing, here we see what wisdom does, wisdom in an individual. And wisdom in an individual does not judge with respect to persons. And here's a question I have because I think what happens is you teach this and then people get this idea like, well, I'm not a judge. I don't have to make a decision about is this person right or is this person wrong. But James tells us that even in the context of community, Even if you're not the pastor and there's no decision that needs to be made, the Bible forbids us to be people who respect persons. James 2, look at verse 1. Notice what the Bible says. The Bible says, my brethren, it's talking to believers, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we're being told how to live out our faith, and here specifically we're told, do not live out your faith this way. Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, look at the words, with respect of persons. And then he gives us a very practical application. Verse two. For if there come into your assembly, that's church, by the way, this is an assembly, a congregation called out believers. If there come into your assembly a man, with a gold ring and goodly apparel. What's he describing? A rich man. They drive in with a nice vehicle. They walk in with nice clothes on. And they're coming to your assembly, a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment. This person isn't driving at all. They just came in through the gates and they don't have nice clothing at all. And it's obvious and apparent that they just don't have a lot of money. The Bible says in verse 3, And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing. It's an older word, of course, being used there in an older context. And saying to him, Sit thou here in a good place and say to the poor, Stand thou there or sit here under my footstool. Notice verse 4, he says, Are ye not then partial? And the word partial maybe is not a word that we use a lot today, but here's a word we do use. We want people to be impartial. What does it mean to be impartial? It means you're not taking a side. It means you're not playing favorites. He says, are you not then partial in yourselves and become judges of evil thoughts? And look what the Bible is telling us here. And you say, well, I'm not a judge. I'm not going to find myself in a position like King Solomon. OK, but do you judge people in your heart? I'm like, you don't have to answer out loud. Please don't answer out loud. I don't want to hear the answer out loud. But maybe you and I should take some inventory and ask ourselves, are we wise people? And if you're the type of person, and the Lord forbid that this would be the case at Verity Baptist Church, but I think when you've got human beings, this is the case everywhere. If you're the type of person that looks at the way someone is dressed, looks at the way something, the vehicle they drive, looks at the part of town they live in and you despise them in your heart. You say, well, I don't despise people. Okay, but you have more respect for people that are more impressive. You know what the Bible says? The Bible says that that's the opposite of wisdom. Because Solomon looked at these two women He was heartless. It would have been easy for him to say, get these women out of here. But yet, he showed them respect. In fact, he gave them justice. He didn't judge based on status or reputation. He judged the case based on truth. And look, you and I need to get the eyes of wisdom. We need to have wisdom that judges without respect of persons. Don't look down on people for money. Money's going to burn out. The principle of wisdom, I think, that we learn from here, if you don't mind, keep your place there in Deuteronomy. Keep your place in James. We're going to come back to it. And look, again, you'd be surprised. You say, well, who does this? Listen to people talk. Listen to people talk. And you'd be shocked how often we judge and despise people and have respect of persons. You know, wisdom is impartial. Wisdom looks at the facts, not the faces. In a world where people judge, like Jesus said, based off appearance, in a world where people judge based off wealth, based off background, godly wisdom doesn't play favorites. I'm just telling you Aside from the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, the wisest man who ever lived, you know what he practiced in his judgment? He refused to judge with respect of persons. And I think if you and I said, well, I'd like wisdom like Solomon, maybe we should start there. Maybe we need to stop looking down on people, despising them in our hearts. Maybe you should realize that every person has a soul that's going to spend eternity somewhere. And look, I understand that sometimes people are in situations and it's their own self-inflicted wounds. I understand that. And I understand that some people are going to try to take advantage. And look, I get all those things. But I'm just saying, we have to check our hearts. Wisdom judges without respect of persons. I want you to notice the second thing we see in this passage. Keep your place in Deuteronomy. Keep your place in James. We're going to come back to it. Go back to 1 Kings chapter 3. I said, number one, we see the eyes of wisdom. Wisdom judges without respect of persons. It's blind in that sense. I've said this before that the statue that represents justice hold a balance in one hand and a sword and authority in the other, but it's blindfolded. Why? Because justice is supposed to be blind. You shall not respect persons in judgment, but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. So we see the eyes of wisdom. But I want you to notice secondly, not only do we see the eyes of wisdom, but we see the ears of wisdom. Why don't you notice what Solomon does here? And I think it's interesting because the Bible goes into enough detail, and I say this all the time and I need to just find a different way of saying this, but in the Bible nothing is incidental, coincidental, accidental. If it's there, it's there for a reason. If it's there, God wants us to see it, God wants us to notice it. And I think it's interesting that the Bible takes the time to show us something. Remember, we're in the courtroom of King Solomon, We're in his judgment hall. And here's what the Bible says in verse 17, 1 Kings 3, 17. And the one woman said, O my Lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered that this woman was delivered also. And we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, save the two, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night, because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I arose in the morning to give my child stock, behold, it was dead. But when I considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear." So we get the testimony from the first one. Then in verse 22 we get the testimony from the second woman. And the other woman said, But the living is my son and the dead is thy son. But then I want you to notice, we get a little back and forth. And this said, when it says this said, we're back to the first woman. No, but the dead is thy son and the living is my son. And then, The Holy Spirit of God, that's the one who's truly narrating the story, takes the time to give us this little tidbit. Thus they spake before the king. So I want you to notice that one gives a story, the other gives a story, but then the other one says something, and the Bible says that they went back and forth a little bit. I want you to notice that Solomon didn't interrupt. He didn't cut either woman off. He didn't assume that he had the full story after hearing one side. He let them speak. He even allowed them to have a little back and forth. And I think here we find the next lesson of wisdom and it is this, that wisdom listens. And wisdom listens to both sides. I think what's interesting is that Solomon does in verse 23 what we would call reflective listening. He lets them, and you say, well, I don't know, I think you're kind of reading into that. I mean, they're going back and forth, they're just arguing. But wait a minute, wait a minute. They're going back and forth. He lets one tell the story. The other one said, nay, but the living is my son and the dead is thy son. And then the Bible says, and this said, no, but the dead is thy son and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. You think, Pastor Jimenez, I think you're kind of reading into that. Okay, but am I reading into this? Verse 23, then said the king, So Solomon lets them go back and forth and he said, okay, okay, just to recap, just to make sure I understand, just to make sure I didn't miss anything, this is what we call reflective listening. Then said the king, the one saith, this is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead. And the other saith, nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. I mean, the fact that he takes the time to just kind of paraphrase what they just got done saying. I think God is trying to show us something. What is God showing us? He's showing us that Solomon did not interrupt them. He didn't cut them off. He let them talk. He heard the full story. He let them speak. He even allowed them to argue. Then he paraphrased and reflected back to them. Let me make sure I got this straight. You're saying your son's alive and her son's dead, and you're saying, no, your son's alive and her son's dead. You know what wisdom does? It listens. Not just to the side we agree with. Did you just hear what I said? Not just to our friends. Not just to the people we like. Not just to the people we hope are right. Solomon listened to both sides. He didn't just listen to the one who spoke first. He listened to both sides. This is what wisdom does. Let's look at it. Deuteronomy 19. Can you get back there? Deuteronomy 19. Look at verse 15. This is true of accusations. It's also just true of argumentations. In Deuteronomy 19 and verse 15, notice what the Bible says. The Bible says, one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin. In any sin that he sinned. What does the Bible say here? It says that if someone is accused of something, even if they're your friend, or even if they're not your friend, even if they're your enemy, you're supposed to, a wise person would think, there's two sides to a story. A wise person would not take the testimony of one person and then run with it as though it's gospel truth. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? The Bible says, at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. You say, these are all about court system, not about wisdom. Okay, well let's go to the wisdom passages. Go to Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs chapter 18. Psalms, Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 18. Look at verse number 13. Proverbs chapter 18. Verse number 13, the Bible says, He that answereth the matter before he heareth it. He that answereth the matter before he heareth it. See, how does that verse apply? And the way that we often apply that verse is we'll say like, well, if you don't even let somebody tell you, you don't even let them speak, you don't even hear it, you just answer it. That, here's the word, it is folly. The word folly means foolishness. It's the opposite of wisdom. But it's not just that. Because how often does that happen? Somebody walks up to you and says, hey, I need to make a decision about something. And you're like, don't talk to me. This is the decision. I mean, I'm sure that happens at times, I guess, with people. But how often does that? You know, what the Bible is saying here is that when someone answers a matter before they've heard it completely, before they've taken the time to see all sides, It is folly and shame unto him. You know what a wise person does? A wise person has ears of wisdom. They listen. They listen to both sides. They don't just answer a matter after they've heard some hearsay, some gossip. Notice same chapter, verse 17. Proverbs 18, verse 17. He that is first in his own cause seemeth just. But his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. You say, what is this verse talking about? Here's what the verse is saying. He that is first in his own cause seemeth just. Isn't it true that oftentimes the first version of a story sounds real convincing? I mean, somebody tells you something and you're like, wow, I can't believe that. But then the Bible says, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. The legal term that we would use for, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him is, yeah, you heard the testimony, but then comes the cross-examination. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Somebody tells a story and you're like, wow, that's amazing, that's convincing. But then the neighbor comes and said, but wait a minute, you left out this part. You embellished this part. You didn't tell the truth in this part. What about this? And then all of a sudden it's like, well, now it sounds different. See a wise person understands that you need to hear the whole thing. By the way this is why the Bible says that we shouldn't even receive an accusation. The Bible specifically says in 1st Timothy 5.19 against an elder receive not an accusation but before two or three witnesses. You say, why would God say that? Why would God say you shouldn't even receive? The word receive means to accept or listen to an accusation against an elder. You say, why would God say that? Here's why God says it, is because it's really easy for people to just lie and slander and tell half-truths and tell stories. And a foolish person says, well, I mean, that's what they said, so it must be. But a wise person, doesn't answer a matter before he hearth it. A wise person has ears of wisdom. They listen to both sides. Now here's the thing. This is true of accusations, but let's talk about arguments. Go to James chapter 1. Have you kept your place in James? Because this is where it applies probably most of the time for all of us. What about in arguments? You know what a wise person does? James 1 Look at verse 19. I'm sorry to ruin your day with the Bible, but this is just what the Bible says. And I think it's good for us to learn it. James 1, verse 19, the Bible says, Here's what the Bible says. That means that we're fast to want to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. You know, the truth of the matter is that a wise person, you say, you're in an argument with a fellow church member, you're in an argument with your spouse, you're in an argument with somebody at work. You know what a wise person does? A wise person seeks to hear and to understand and to perceive. And look, a wise person says, I want to try to understand this from your point of view. Here's the thing. You may try to understand it from someone else's point of view. It may not change your mind. You may still think what you think and they might still think what they think. Oftentimes I've found when I'm trying to help people who are maybe in conflict, this is something my wife and I unfortunately do a lot because of the positions we're in, and you know what I often find is that sometimes people just need to hear each other out. And it's like, well, you're mad at this person because they did this, and they're mad at you because you did this, and you're assuming, that's usually what happens, that they did this because of X, Y, and Z, and they're assuming that you did this because of X, Y, and Z. No one's actually talked to each other. You know what I often find is nobody wants to talk to each other, but they all want to talk about each other. They want to talk to everybody that can't help the situation except the person they're supposed to go to. And then when you finally sit them down and get them all to work it all out, you realize, oh, no, I didn't do that because of that. I did that because of this. And you're like, oh, I hadn't thought about that. And then when the other person, well, I didn't respond that way because of this. I responded that way because of that. And then they're like, oh, I didn't think about that. And here's the thing. You and I have the tendency to only see things from our perspective. But a wise person understands that. And a wise person says, I have a tendency to only see things from my perspective. So let me just try to be swift to hear. And maybe let me just try to be slow to speak. And let me control my emotions and be slow to write. And maybe it's not going to change my mind or change what I'm going to do about it. But maybe at least I can see it from their perspective. I'm just telling you that's what a wise person does. A wise person has ears of wisdom. They listen. They want to listen. Wisdom holds its tongue and wisdom holds its judgment until it's heard the whole truth. Both sides, all facts, no shortcuts. That's what wisdom does. So how are you doing with wisdom? How's wisdom in your life? Do you have the eyes of wisdom? You don't respect people based off appearance or money or things of that nature? How are your ears of wisdom? Do you listen? Are you swift to hear and slow to speak? Realizing that just because someone tells you something doesn't make it so? Just because someone tells you a story doesn't make it true? I mean, unless it's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to you, you may want to acknowledge that just because someone says something doesn't make it so. And I want you to notice thirdly tonight, we see the eyes of wisdom, the ears of wisdom, I want you to notice the emotions of wisdom. We could have said the heart of wisdom, but I just wanted to alliterate it. The emotions of wisdom. I think this is really the big one. 1 Kings 3, look at verse 24. And the king said, I love it, and you and I, I think that you and I don't get the reaction because we know how the story goes, but just, you know, I often tell people, put yourself in the story, put flesh into these stories, put yourself in the courtroom of Solomon, and you don't know how this is gonna end. You don't know, you're just there, these women show up, they tell the story, and you're thinking to yourself, I'm glad I'm not the king right now. He's going to have to decide this. How's he going to decide this? And then the Bible says in verse 24, and the king said, bring me a sword. And you're just, again, if you don't know the story, if you're just sitting there, you're watching this whole thing take place. What do you think of yourself? What do you need a sword for? We don't need a sword. We need a decision. You just gotta decide which woman's lying and which one's not lying, and they're both women of ill repute. They're both women that maybe can't be trusted. Bring me a sword, and they brought a sword before the king. Now, we don't know where the sword was. The sword might have been right next to him. The sword might have been in another room. But I would imagine that there was a little bit of time before the sword got to him. I would imagine that it'd be an awkward silence, don't you think? I mean, these two women just got done telling this story, and now everybody's, look, all eyes are on Solomon. He's got to make a decision. And he kind of, like, looks up and says, and everybody's like, OK, here it comes. What's he going to say? Get me a sword. I think people probably just, OK. I'd imagine that the two ladies probably looked up at Solomon and thought, OK. Verse 25, and the king said, divide the living child in two. I would imagine at this point there would have been some sort of gasp from the crowd. I would imagine at this point there would have been some sort of whispering in the crowd. What's he doing? He's lost it. The pressure got to him. He wasn't ready. He's no David. He's just 25 years old. How's he going to do this? And the king said, divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other. You know the story. But what if you didn't know the story? What would you have thought? Well, he surprises them. I think everyone's surprised. And in fact, I think that's what Solomon wanted to do, because what Solomon was trying to do, see, they came in with their prepared notes and stories, you know, okay, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God. And they went through their little thing, and they told their story, and then the cross-examination, and they went through the whole thing. But see, now Solomon, Solomon is taking the time to see them. without respect to persons. He's taking the time to hear them and to hear both sides and to even give them and reflect that and make sure he understood. Let me get this straight. You're saying your child's alive and hers is dead. She's saying, no, her child's alive and yours is dead. But here's what wisdom does. Because remember, wisdom is more than just information. See, here's the thing about the story. More information would not have helped Solomon. You understand that? There were no witnesses. There's no physical evidence. More information. The ladies giving more facts and more and say, no, it's my son because my son had a dimple and this baby has a dimple, so therefore it's my son. But Solomon would be like, well, how would I know that your son had a dimple? I never saw your son before. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? More information, more education, more knowledge would not have helped this information. See, where knowledge lacks, wisdom comes in. Because what Solomon needs right now is not more information. What Solomon needs right now is not more intellectual, educational intelligence. You know what Solomon needs right now? He needs a little bit of what we call emotional intelligence. I think he kind of surprises them and he kind of shocks them because he wants to see what comes in. You know what the Bible says? The Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And he wants to see what's actually in their heart. So he says, bring me a sword, and it's a little awkward, everybody's silent, they're like, what does he need a sword for? They get him a sword at some point, and he says, here's what we're gonna do. Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Verse 26, then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned, that's emotion, upon her son, and she said, oh my Lord, give her the living child, and in no wise land, What did the woman do? The woman whose child actually was hers. When she was confronted with the possibility that her son was going to be killed, that this baby was going to be divided in half, she did what a loving mother, what the real mother would do. She said, just give her the child. Don't hurt the child. Don't kill the child. See, you know what love does? It sacrifices. Even if she had to give up her personal interest in the matter, she would rather the baby go to a woman who's lying, than the baby be hers. Then spake the woman whose living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son. And she said, O my Lord, give her the living child, and know wisely, Notice what the other lady says. But the other said, let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, give her the living child. And in no wise slaying, she is the mother thereof. See, Solomon tested these women to reveal the true mother's love and sacrifice for her child. You know what wisdom does for you more than knowledge? Wisdom will allow you to get in touch with emotions. Wisdom will allow you to not just hear. Now, a wise person will hear, but you know what a wise person does is they'll take the time to hear. They do take the time to hear, but once they've heard, you know what a wise person does is they turn the volume down. They turn the noise down. They stop worrying about what the people are saying and they start observing what the people are doing. People of wisdom will often, after they have listened, start observing and start discerning. They'll listen to what people say, but they'll pay attention to what people do. And this mother said, don't hurt the child. That's what love does. Love sacrifices and love is selfless. Look, you and I cannot say we love someone if we're not willing to sacrifice and be selfless for that individual. And then notice this other woman. She said, let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. You have your place in Hebrews. I'm not gonna have you turn there just for sake of time, but you know, Hebrews talks about the root of bitterness. You know, this woman lost her child too. But she didn't deal with it properly. She allowed bitterness to take root in her heart. You know, the Bible talks about the root of bitterness springing up and troubling you. She has this idea. This is what bitter people do. They have this idea. If I'm hurting, I want everyone else to hurt. Let it neither be mine nor thine. But if I lost my child, then you go ahead and lose your child too. It's wrong. It's wrong. to say, well, if I'm hurting, I want you to hurt. If something bad happened to me, I want something bad to happen to you. If I can't have a child, I want you to have a child. Those are wrong things. So we see that Solomon taps into the emotion. You know what the Bible says? I'm not going to have you go back to Hebrews because I'm running out of time and I just need to finish this up. But you know what the Bible says? The Bible says in Hebrews 4.12, it says, for the word of God is quick and powerful. and sharper than any two-edged sword. Solomon brought a sword out, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a, listen to this, is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the hearts. You know what the Bible does? The Bible says that the Bible discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. And when you and I get to know the Bible, it will help us not only discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts, but the thoughts and intents of others' hearts. Hebrews also says that when someone takes the word of God and by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Wisdom does something that knowledge cannot. It allows you to not only understand the facts, but it also allows you to perceive the emotions. It's not enough. It's not enough to just, well, I got the facts. I got the facts. But can you tap into the intent of the heart, the motive behind the situation? Oftentimes my wife and I, due to our position, will counsel people. We're happy, of course, to help when we can. Do you know what I've learned in counseling is that I don't really have to spend a lot of time, my wife doesn't have to spend a lot of time explaining to people, like, facts. You know, we got to start there, they got to tell us their story, and the other person has to tell the story, and you got all the facts. You know what I've learned is that we spend more time explaining to people, well, here's the thing. When you said that, it made them feel like this. And when they felt like that, they then responded this way, and that made you feel like this. Because wisdom doesn't just look at what they said, what they did. It perceives the heart. It understands the emotion. And look, I'm just telling you, most of the relational problems that we experience are not a knowledge problem. They're not a knowledge intelligence problem. They are an emotional intelligence problem. So I ask you, how are you doing with the wisdom in your life? Do you have the eyes of wisdom? Because wisdom judges with no respect to persons. Do you have the ears of wisdom? Because wisdom listens and wisdom listens to both sides and doesn't just assume that because they got one side they must have all the information they need. Do you have the emotions of wisdom? Because wisdom moves past the facts and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Look at verse 28. 1 Kings 3.28, And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom, look at it, the wisdom. We often call it the wisdom of Solomon. In fact, I titled the sermon, The Wisdom of Solomon, because that's a phrase that we often use and the Bible uses that term. But the Bible says it's the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. You know what I need? You know what you need? Is the wisdom of God. Solomon's wisdom wasn't just seen in what he knew. Solomon's wisdom was seen in how he judged, and how he listened, and how he discerned, how he perceived the heart. The wisdom of God in our lives will be evident through our lives. So how are you doing? I'll ask myself, how am I doing? Do you find yourself despising others because they're not as good as you think they should be? That's not wisdom. Do you find yourself not listening in an argument or not listening to both sides in an accusation? Because that's not wisdom. Do you find yourself unable to perceive the emotions of others, the feelings of others, Your arguments are so shallow. This is what they said and this is what they did. Yeah, but if you actually want to resolve things, if you actually want to make decisions that make sense, you have to go a little deeper. That's what wisdom does. You find yourself unable to perceive people's hearts, feelings, or emotions. Look, you do what you want with it. My job's not to beat you up. I'm just telling you that there have been times in my life, there have been times with my wife and I and perceiving situations where we had to make a judgment call and here's what they did. But when we really thought about it and prayed about it, we realized here's why they did it. And why they did it doesn't justify what they did. But while we're dealing with what they did, maybe we should also try to help with why they did it. Because that's what wisdom does. I hope you'll have wisdom in your life. I know I want wisdom in mine. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for this passage. And I think the lessons that we can learn from it. Lord, I pray that we would be a church filled with wise people. But we can choose to be wise. We can make decisions, learn from Solomon. I think this passage is in the Bible for a reason. Help us to have the eyes of wisdom. To realize that wisdom judges without respect of persons. Help us to have the ears of wisdom. to realize that wisdom listens more than it speaks, and it listens to both sides. Help us have the emotions of wisdom. Wisdom understands the facts, but also perceives the intents of the heart. And Lord, I pray you'd help us be wise people. We love you. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. All right, we're gonna have Brother Moses come up and lead us in.