1 Kings 2:46

A wise ruling

Solomon makes a wise decision

One day two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon. As they stood before him, one of the women said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave the birth to a baby while she was there with me.”

Three days later this woman also gave a birth to a baby. No one else was in the house with us. It was just the two of us. One night this woman rolled over on her baby, and he died. So she took my son from my bed during the night while I was asleep, and she carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed. The next morning when I got up to feed my baby I saw that he was dead. When I look at him more closely, I realized that he was not my son."

"No!" – the other woman cried. "The leaving baby is my son, and the dead baby is yours! But the first woman said: "No! The dead baby is yours and the leaving one is mine!"

So the two women argued before the king.

The king sent the servants to get a sword. When they brought it to him he said: "Cut the leaving baby into two pieces and give each woman half.”

The real mother of the leaving child full of love for her son. So she said to the king: "Please, my master, don't kill him! Give the baby to her."

But the other woman said: "Neither of us will have him. Cut him into two pieces!"

Then King Solomon said: "Don't kill him. Give the baby to the first woman because she is the real mother.”

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.

The first letter of Paul to Timothy 5.14-6.8

False Teaching and Greed

8. But if we have food and closing, we will be content with these. 9. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

11. But as for you, man of God, shun all this, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12. Fight the good fight to the faith, take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses,13. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14. To keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15. Which he will bring about at the right time – he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 16. It is he alone who has immortality, and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to him be honor and eternal domination. Amen.

17. As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19. Thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

The letter of James 2.24-3.18

Taming the tongue

6. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity, it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8. But no one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brother and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11. Does a both fresh and brackish water? 12. Can a fig tree, my brother and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Proverbs