What can we learn about truth from the mother's reaction in 1 Kings 3:21? \Setting the Scene\ “When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.” \What the Mother Did with Truth\ • She examined the evidence: looked “closely in the morning light.” • She trusted personal knowledge of her child: maternal certainty trumped appearances. • She spoke up immediately before Solomon, despite social disadvantage. • She held to truth under pressure; the other woman was adamant, yet she did not yield. • She risked everything—her reputation and even the child’s fate—to keep truth from being buried. \Timeless Principles about Truth\ • Truth withstands scrutiny. Careful investigation (“morning light”) reveals reality. • Truth is personal yet objective. Her intimate knowledge matched observable facts. • Truth compels testimony. Authentic love refuses silence (cf. Proverbs 12:17). • Truth exposes deception. Falsehood collapses when genuine evidence is presented. • Truth protects life. By insisting on truth, the true mother secured the child’s safety. • Truth aligns with God’s nature; He desires “truth in the inmost being” (Psalm 51:6). \Practical Takeaways\ • Examine situations in the “light” of God’s Word before drawing conclusions. • Hold fast to what you know is true, even when outnumbered or under pressure. • Speak truth promptly; delay allows lies to take root. • Let love motivate honesty—truth told without love can become a weapon, but love without truth is sentimental deceit. • Trust that God, the ultimate Judge, will vindicate truth in His timing, just as Solomon did. \Supporting Scriptures\ • John 8:32—“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” • Ephesians 4:25—“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” • 1 John 1:6—“If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” |
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