“A Mother’s Split Decision”
1 Kings 3:16-28
INTRODUCTION: Today is Mother’s Day! Our text today has to do with MOTHERS … and WISDOM. The 2 need to go hand-in-hand … “Amen” mothers?
God appears to King Solomon in a dream – 1 Kings 3:5. God gives Solomon a BLANK CHECK. Solomon asks for wisdom, because he sees his need for wisdom as King – 3:9.
God granted Solomon his request. AND … because he could have asked for riches, long life, or victory over his enemies … God gave him those things as well – 3:13.
NOW … Solomon’s need for Divine wisdom is soon put to the test. 3:16-23 – What do we see about MOTHERHOOD in these verses?
1.- MOTHERS AREN’T PERFECT
These 2 mothers were harlots, prostitutes – 3:16. My favorite Mother’s Day sermons aren’t the ones on the “Perfect Mother”. When you preach on the “Perfect Mother”, mothers leave discouraged, because you can’t possibly be the “Perfect Mother”. HOWEVER, when I preach on Jezebel, or these 2 harlots, mothers leave the service thinking, “I’m a pretty good mother after all!”.
Nobody’s perfect … Nobody’s the perfect mother … Nobody HAD a perfect mother … Nobody IS the perfect mother. She’s never been born … never invented … never existed. As close as you’re going to get, is Mrs. Cleaver (Beaver’s Mom), or Mrs. Anderson (“Father Knows Best”).
Mother’s Day can be a difficult time. For some, it brings back some memories of a wonderful Mother who is dearly missed, because she has died and is now in Heaven. For others, it reminds them of their Mother, who may have been, or may still be, a difficult Mother. There are some Mothers that you can never please. They are miserable, and make everybody around them miserable. They can be hateful and hurtful … which can make Mother’s Day a difficult time.
Mother’s aren’t perfect. Maybe that will take some of the pressure off some of you mother’s here this morning who don’t meet your own expectations of motherhood. You’re not EXPECTED to be perfect … you WILL make mistakes. My Mother wasn’t perfect, but God chose her for me, and I thank God for that.
In our story, we find 1 Mother who was cruel, selfish and heartless. During the night, she had laid on her newborn child, and it died. She took her dead child, and replaced it with her room-mate’s living child … hoping she wouldn‘t notice. This was a thoughtless, cruel, selfish thing to do.
Mothers aren’t perfect … but some are closer to it than others!
2.- MOTHERS KNOW THEIR CHILDREN – 3:21
When she examined her child, she immediately knew it wasn’t hers. This was a NEW-BORN child. Can I speak as a man? They all look alike to me! I can’t even look at my own children’s baby pictures, and tell which is which. Mother’s aren’t like that … they know their children … even at birth.
You can’t fool a mother! Fathers are gullible, easily fooled, and sometimes stupid (I speak from experience!). BUT … you can’t fool a mother … at least I couldn’t fool mine! They know when you’re LYING … trying to HIDE something from them … when you’re SICK … when you’re AFRAID … WORRIED.
Mothers KNOW these things. They have a 6th sense … eyes in the back of their head … a special gift from God. This woman’s child was only a few days old …but she knew her child. There’s a special bond between a mother and her children.
3.- MOTHERS WILL SACRIFICE – 3:21
She rose up early to nurse her child … before daylight. As it got lighter, she got a good look at the child, and realized it wasn’t hers.
Most of the time, we don’t realize the sacrifices that Mother’s make. Do you know why? Because … they never tell you! If you find out at all, it’s usually years later. My mother sacrificed to put me through 4 years of college. (The next 4 years were my responsibility!) She worked overtime … Saturdays .. to pay for my college. I never knew it … never thought about it. She never mentioned it until 30 years later.
Why didn’t she hold this over me? “Look at what all I’ve done for you!” Because … that’s just what my mother did for me … she SACRIFICED.
Let’s read on in this story to see how Solomon deals with the situation. We will see some more “Motherly Sacrifice” – 3:23-27
The REAL mother of the baby was willing to SACRIFICE her motherhood for the life of her child. Solomon, in all his wisdom, knew this … AND … determined the mother of the child from the Mother’s SACRIFICIAL LOVE.
A good Mother will sacrifice for her children.
• You buy them the best things that you can afford … even if it means going without things, yourself.
• You take them to practices, school events, social events … even if it means taking up most of your time that you could be spending on yourself.
• You encourage them to participate in Sports, FFA, Band, and a dozen other activities … even if it means more work for you.
BUT … let me caution you. You can let you and your child get so involved in everything else … AND … forget the most important thing … their relationship with the Lord. The more activities there are, the further the Lord gets pushed back in priority. Be careful of this. Don’t sacrifice your child’s relationship with the Lord.
4.- MOTHERS HAVE PROBLEMS – 3:24-25
There was no DNA testing back then! This mother had a problem!
You thought you had problems BEFORE you became a mother! NOW, you not only have YOUR PROBLEMS, you have your CHILDREN’S problems. AND, sometimes, your HUSBAND’S problems! Being a Mother is HIGH-STRESS. The stress may get lighter … or change with time … BUT … it never disappears. A good mother will always hurt when their children hurt … no matter how old they get.
Motherhood is a life-long ministry … “Amen” Mothers? Someone once said this, which I suppose could refer to Motherhood – “It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired.”
5.- MOTHERS HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER
King Solomon took the time to deal with these 2 harlot mothers. Certainly, they don’t deserve any special time before the busy King.
Mom, you have a Heavenly Father who will always take time for you … ALWAYS! There’s no such thing as stress-free Motherhood. There’s no such thing as stress-free Mothers. God is always there for you … AND He’s even wiser then Solomon! AND … He’ll even give YOU the wisdom You need - James 1:5 – “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
CONCLUSION:
PARENTS need our prayers … our CHILDREN need our prayers. We are in a SPIRITUAL WARFARE … a BATTLE for our homes, families, marriages, and our children. You and I are in the MIDDLE of the struggle … or at least you’d better be!
Don’t give up! Do what’s right … be the Mother/Father/Grand-parent/Child that God wants you to be. You’re not in the struggle alone. God is a Father, too. He’s always there for you.
STAND – PRAY
HYMN - #
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“A Mother’s Split Decision”
1 Kings 3:16-28
INTRODUCTION: “Mother-hood” and “wisdom” go hand-in-hand.
- 1 Kings 3:5,9,13 – God grants Solomon’s request for wisdom.
- Solomon’s wisdom is put to the first test – 3:16-23
1.- MOTHERS AREN’T PERFECT – 3:16
- Nobody HAS the perfect Mother … Nobody IS the perfect Mother.
- Mother’s Day can be a difficult time, as you miss your devoted Mother … or reminisce about your difficult Mother.
- Mothers aren’t expected to be perfect … but some are closer to it than others.
2.- MOTHERS KNOW THEIR CHILDREN – 3:21
- You can’t fool a Mother!
- There is a special bond between a good Mother and her children.
3.- MOTHERS WILL SACRIFICE – 3:21
- We usually don’t realize the sacrifices that Mothers make.
- Good Mothers don’t hold their sacrifices over their children.
- 3:23-27 – The REAL Mother was willing to sacrifice her motherhood for the life of her child.
- In sacrificing your time, money and energy for your children, don’t sacrifice their relationship with the Lord.
4.- MOTHERS HAVE PROBLEMS – 3:24-25
- Being a Mother is high-stress.
- Motherhood is a life-long ministry … there will always be a bond between a good mother and her children.
5.- MOTHERS HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER
- Your Heavenly Father will always take time for you … ALWAYS!
- God is wiser than Solomon … and He imparts to you the wisdom you need for Mother-hood – James 1:5
CONCLUSION:
- You are in a Spiritual battle … but you’re not in the battle alone.
- God is your Father … He’s always there for you.
