Hello!  My name is Joseph.
    No, not that Joseph, the one who became a ruler in Egypt; but I am named for him.
    No, not that other Joseph, Mary's husband ... hey, that hasn't happened yet!
    No, I am Joseph, administrative assistant in the court of King Solomon.
    Solomon holds court to settle disputes, and I keep track of the cases and present them to him.  Well, yesterday we had a real doozy, a shocker.  When it ended, I was in a cold sweat.
    I said to Solomon, "This next one is weird, and I don't think you should deal with it."
    "Why not?"  he wanted to know.
    "Because it's a dispute between two prostitutes!  They're not worthy of your attention.  Just send them away."
    Solomon said,  "Humor me.  What is their case?"
    "This is where it gets weird.  They share an apartment, and they both had baby boys - out of wedlock, of course - born just last week.  They can't afford proper cribs, or nannies, or much else for proper child care.  So at night the babies sleep with their mothers.
    "Last night, one of the babies died.  Now this woman says ..."
    Solomon interrupted.  "Let the women speak for themselves!"
    So they did.  The first one said,  "She rolled over on her baby and it suffocated.  When she realized her son was dead, she brought him to my bed while I was asleep and switched him with my baby.  When I woke up, the baby in my bed was dead.  But it's not my baby!  The one who is alive is mine!"
    The other one answered,  "No, she rolled over on her own baby.  She's just making this up to take my baby from me!"
    Solomon turned to me.  "Just out of curiosity, Joseph, how would you handle this?"
    "Well,"  I said, "these two women are sinners who have brought their problems on themselves.  They don't deserve your attention.  I'd just send them away to sort it out by themselves.
    "Besides, there are really important people out there waiting for your consideration.  There are CEOs with corporate mergers and hostile takeovers and other disputes, cases that involve millions of dollars and the economic health of the kingdom.  They shouldn't be kept waiting while you waste time with two prostitutes.
    "Sorry, that didn't come out quite as I had intended."
    Solomon considered this.  Then he said to me,  "Joseph, do you remember the psalm my father, King David, wrote for my coronation?  It was read at the ceremony.  The psalm asks God's blessing on the new king's reign.  (By the way, it is the 72nd psalm in the collection.) 
Also, it describes the kind of king who will receive God's blessing.
        ‘He delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
        He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
        From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.'  (Psalm 72:12-14)   
    "Joseph, these women are poor, and they have no clout, no high priced lawyers, no one to speak up for them.  My duty as king is to provide justice for them, to give them the same consideration I would
give someone who has lots of money for election campaign contributions."
    "But," I said, "you don't need campaign contributions!  You're a king!"
    "It doesn't matter.  Look, what's important is the lives of three precious children of God."
    "Three?"  I asked.
    "Yes, three.  Don't forget the baby!"
    I turned to the women.  "King Solomon will now decide your case," I announced.But how would the king decide?  See, I told you this case was a doozy.
    Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.
    King Solomon was thinking out loud.  "There are no fathers, nor anyone else who can identify the babies.  DNA testing hasn't been invented yet.  There's only one thing to do:  bring me a sword!"
    One of the soldiers standing by produced his sword.
    "A sword?"  I asked.  "What for?"
    "You, Joseph.  Cut the baby in half, and give half to each of the two women!"
    I looked at the sword in horror.  I was in shock, speechless.
    Before I could even breathe one of the women cried out, "No!  Please, give the baby to her!  But whatever you do, don't kill him!"
    Solomon directed his gaze to the other woman.
    She said, "It won't be either mine nor hers; divide it."
    Solomon reached out his hand to stop my hand from picking up the sword.
    "Don't touch the sword.  Give the living baby to the first woman.  She is his mother."
    Everyone in the room was stunned.  I'm still in a cold sweat.
    The mother of the living baby is reunited with her son.  The baby is reunited with his real mother. The other woman has, at the very least, had the fear of God put into her.
    And the entire kingdom knows that there will be justice for all, from the greatest to the least, because in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of the ruler with God's wisdom, every one is precious.
 

David Paul Henry received his undergraduate degree from Wheaton (IL) College, a bachelor of divinity degree from University of London and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. He and his wife, Mary, have two daughters, Kelly and Robyn. Dr. Henry was founder and first board president of Hancock County Habitat for Humanity and is the author of several papers on Christian responses to the social issues of our day. He is contributing partner of the Christian Policy Institute. He has been pastor of Lamoine Baptist Church in Lamoine, Maine since 1984. In good Baptist tradition, the people of Lamoine Baptist Church are free to form their own views, and they do not always agree with the opinions of their pastor.