There's a story in the Bible about a wise and just king named Solomon. Perhaps the most famous story about Solomon is a story about two women who come to the King and ask him to decide which of them is the true mother of a newborn baby.
I was reminded of the story of Solomon's Judgement when I heard that Palestinians from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are now sending rockets at Jerusalem. Yes, you read that right. Hamas, a known Islamic terrorist organisation, is sending rockets against Jerusalem - the third holiest location in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
Hamas is sending rockets not 'just' at Sderot, not 'just' at Ashkelon, not 'just' at Ashdod, not 'just' at Netivot. They are sending rockets at a city of hundreds of thousands of people, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They are sending rockets at a city they claim to love, to want to liberate, to want to fight for. They are sending Grad rockets, Qassam rockets and who knows what else at Israel and now too at Jerusalem.
In the tale of Solomon's judgement, the baby's real mother shows how much she loves her child by her willingness to do anything, even giving up her baby to another woman, to keep her precious child alive. To keep her baby whole, protected, unharmed. Because if you love someone, you don't want to destroy them, hurt them or break them in half. Jerusalem is a city, not a child. Yet surely whether one writes about loving someone or loving something, surely the same principle applies? Right?
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| Source : The C Section |
The story is recounted in 1 Kings 3:16-28. Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgment. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other.
After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there was only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Oh Lord, give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!"
The king declared the first mother as the true mother, as a true, loving mother would rather surrender her baby to another than hurt him, and gave her the baby. King Solomon's judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.Source : Judgement of Solomon, Wikipedia
I was reminded of the story of Solomon's Judgement when I heard that Palestinians from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are now sending rockets at Jerusalem. Yes, you read that right. Hamas, a known Islamic terrorist organisation, is sending rockets against Jerusalem - the third holiest location in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
Hamas is sending rockets not 'just' at Sderot, not 'just' at Ashkelon, not 'just' at Ashdod, not 'just' at Netivot. They are sending rockets at a city of hundreds of thousands of people, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They are sending rockets at a city they claim to love, to want to liberate, to want to fight for. They are sending Grad rockets, Qassam rockets and who knows what else at Israel and now too at Jerusalem.
In the tale of Solomon's judgement, the baby's real mother shows how much she loves her child by her willingness to do anything, even giving up her baby to another woman, to keep her precious child alive. To keep her baby whole, protected, unharmed. Because if you love someone, you don't want to destroy them, hurt them or break them in half. Jerusalem is a city, not a child. Yet surely whether one writes about loving someone or loving something, surely the same principle applies? Right?