GOD LOVES, SATAN HATES

1 Kings 3:16-28; 11 Chronicles 9:8

In this passage let me suggest that God is dealing with the Church and the world. In His sovereignty, God elects and separates the Church from the world. The text presents the living and the dead. The living son represents the church and the dead son represents the world.  The King represents the Lord.

 CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES

V:16. "Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before

  him."

  A. God hears the prayers of all who call on Him.

      1. These women were out of fellowship with the Lord.

          a. These women were prostitutes.

          b. Notice the Lord identified these as women which is the noun in the sentence.

              He then identified them as harlots. Harlot is an adjective.

              i. The women are God's creation which He loves.

              ii. Harlot is their condition which He hates.

          c. Anytime you put any thing before God, you are in spiritual prostitution.

      2. These woman were prostitutes because men were paying for their services.

          a. Now that they had children, the men were nowhere to be found.

          b. You have to be careful how you treat your bodies.

          c. If you don't respect yourself, nobody else will either.

          d. These women were in this situation because of their disobedience.

  B. Let me suggest that these women may have felt forced into their condition

       because of their lack of knowledge of the goodness of the Lord.

     1. These women, without male support may have had no means to support  

         themselves, other than prostitution.

     2. These women may have been part of a culture of idol god worship that used

          prostitutes in the temple as part of their worship routine. 

     3. In the beginning, we all come to Christ ignorant of God's goodness.

     4. Jesus our king, full of justice, righteousness and compassion forgives our sins

         and renders us righteous before the Father.

  C. There is no problem you can't take to the Lord for help.

          a. It is our problems that draw us to the Lord.

          b. The two women represent the Church and the World.

              The mother of the living child represents the Church.

              The mother of the dead child represents the world.

 V: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."

 A. Both women were blessed equally. They both were blessed with a son.

     1. The Lord creates all men equally. Some will choose right, and others will

          choose wrong.

 B. Let me suggest that the first woman, the accuser is the deceiver.

     1. Satan is a master deceiver.

     2. He appears as an angel of light.

 C. Even though they were in sin, they knew who to call on.

    1. They came on behalf of a child.

    2. They came for justice and judgment.

    3. They came for a life.

    4. They came because they had been blessed with sons.

       a. God can allow our evil activities to be a blessing.

       c. God's grace and mercy falls fresh on us even in our sin.

       b. It is our troubles that force us to seek God.

       d. There is grace in our desire to seek a solution to our troubles.

 D. You need to be prepared to tell your story.

      1. Nobody can tell your story like you.

      2. Always tell the truth.

  E. Plead your case to the one who can help.

      1. God is ready to be our help.

      2. We should come to God expecting to be helped.

V:18. " And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house."

 A. Tell the whole story.

     1. Don't leave out any details.

     2. In a story is the truth, sometimes disguised in a lie.  

 B. You need to be careful who you walk with.

     1. The person you walk with can be your trouble.

     2. When you make the wrong choice, be quick to admit it.

     3. Be quick to correct what you discover is wrong.

 C. Notice God's blessings.

     1. God blessed each with a son.

     2. God blessed each with a roof over their heads.

     3. God blessed each with companionship of each other.

THE WORKS OF SATAN

V:19 "And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it."

 A. Give the reason this circumstance occurred.

  1. People always have a reason why they do what they do.

  2. What you do, can be the reason for your trouble.

  3. People don't always take responsibility for their mistakes.

      a. The death of the child was an accident, but the one who

          caused the accident would not admit it.

      b. We save a lot of trouble if we admit the truth.

      c. The truth sets us free of the past so we can live in the future.

V:20. " 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."

 A. You have to be on your guard at all times, because Satan is always busy.

      1. He never sleeps or slumbers.

      2. He came to steal, kill and destroy.

 B. Thieves deal in darkness.

     1. While we sleep, they are at work.

 C. Satan deals in confusion.

     1. She took the woman's living child and replaced it with her dead  child.

     2. Satan takes the good and substitutes the bad.

     3. Satan takes life and substitutes death.

     4. Satan is a master of the dead.

        a. Spiritual dead folk do what seems good to them.

        b. Spiritual dead folk have no regard for what is right.

        c. Spiritual dead folk will steal your life.

 D. Notice the knowledge of the accuser.

      1. She knew the time of the child's death.

      2. She knew the way the child died.

      3. She knew the time the living child was switched with the dead child.

      4. How could she know this if she was sleep as she claimed?

          a. How could she know such details unless she herself was involved?

          b. Maybe this woman, the accuser was telling her own story disguised

              in a lie about the other woman.

V:21. " And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear."

 A. You need to know what is yours.

    1. What's yours is life and not death.

        a. Jesus came that you might have life.

        b. Satan came to do away with life.

    2. Satan loves confusion.

        a. Satan deals in deception.

        b. He is the father of lies.

        c. Sin has it's origin in him.

 B. The accuser presents herself as the victim, yet she is the perpetrator.

V: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."

 A. The ungodly will steal from you when the opportunity arises.

     1. The ungodly will lie to you.

     2. The ungodly will tell lies about you.

     3. The ungodly have no compassion for you.

     4. The ungodly have no love for you.

     5. The ungodly are selfish.

         a. The ungodly thinks of themselves first.

         b. The ungodly have no regard for your rights.

 B.  The ungodly is not of Christ.

    1. Christ is the God of the living.

    2. Christ allows difficult circumstances in our lives to force us to seek Him.

    3. One woman sought the king to save a life.

       a. One woman sought the king to cover her lies and to stay in  the dark.

       a. One was ready for a change. The other was content in the dark.

 C. God hears the prayers of the needy.

       1. God visits with us in our circumstances through prayer.

 

JUSTICE COME FROM THE LORD

V:23. " 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."

 A. A wise person listens to both sides of the story.

    1. A wise person considers all the details.

    2. A wise person listens first and judges later.

 B. Everybody should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

V:24. " And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king."

  A. God has a way of bringing out the truth.

      1. You can fool others, but you can't fool God.

      2. God has some unusual ways to reveal the truth.

      3. God knows the heart of men and how to bring to the surface their

          true intentions.

  B. The sword in the hands of a king would strike fear in the heart of the mother

        of the living child.

V:25. " And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other."

 A. The King forced true love to the surface by his suggestion that the living child

      be cut in half to settle the issue.

     1. The one who loves seeks the benefits for others.

     2. The one who loves will sacrifice their wants for the needs of others.

     3. The true mother would rather see her son alive, even if it meant she could not be

          with him.

 B. Jesus loves us so much that He sacrificed His life for ours.

     1. True love requires sacrifices.

V:26. " Then spake the woman whose the 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 in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it."

 A. The true mother of the living child has a deep love for her son.

     1. Her love is from the heart and not the surface. She yearned from her bowels.

     2. The true mother chooses life for her son. 

         a. She was willing to sacrifice her right to her son to save his life.

 B. Jesus chose life for all believers.

    1. Jesus who knew no sin became sin so all believers could be free of their sins.

 C. The accuser, a pawn for Satan had no eternal love for the living child.

    1. The accuser chose death for the living child.

    2. Satan desires death for the living.

    3. Satan has no love for the children of God.

V:27. "Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof."

 A. True love knows no cruelty to others.

      1. The woman who was not the mother of the child had no emotional attachment to

          the child.

          a. If the child died, it was no lost to her.

 B. The king in his wisdom knew the true mother would chose life for her child.

     1. Jesus chose life for all God's children.

V:28. "And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment."

 A. When you rely on God for wisdom, the world will know you follow God.

     1. In all of our decisions, we should seek the wisdom of God.

     2. The Lord will never lead you astray.

     3. The Lord provides life for all those who believe in Him.

2 Chronicles 9:8. "8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice."

 A. Jesus is our King

     1. Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

     2. Jesus is our Judge.

     3. Jesus is Love.

     4. In Jesus is our justice.

     5. Jesus provides eternal life for us.