You know, there’s something I’ve always wondered about Solomon judging over the two prostitutes and their claim over the living baby.
Here we have the wisest of all wise men.
I’m talking about a man who was God-chosen and God-anointed with supreme power and authority in the land whose sole responsibility was to rule Israel in righteousness according to God’s Torah.
The Lord promised to bless Solomon if he walked according to His Law, and threatened to curse him if he departed from it.
Now, here’s what I find interesting.
This supreme law-enforcement officer of Israel, when dealing with the prostitutes, doesn’t speak one word to them about their profession.
Ain’t that peculiar, homie?
You know what this means?
Prostitution was legal in the holy nation at that time.
If not, this situation is inexplicable.
Ya feel me here, man?
If prostitution is really so evil, why doesn’t Solomon at least reproach these ladies of the dangers or “unholiness” of their profession?
Hell, he doesn’t reproach them at all.
Quite the contrary, he treats them as dignified human beings and then uses his divinely anointed gift of wisdom on their behalf.
Afterward, they apparently go on their merry way and return to their prostitution…
All without one single word suggesting it might be wise to maybe change their jobs!
My point is, if prostitution is so evil as we make it out to be today, it would’ve been so back then as well.
Ya feeling me here?
If banning prostitution is truly a matter of moral necessity, why did the greatest moral and spiritual leaders throughout history (including those considered divinely chosen) never pursue such a prohibition?
If prostitution were truly considered a moral evil by God or Israelite society, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, surely would have moved to stamp it out.
Yet prostitution was openly practiced in his time, visible right from the palace windows, with women soliciting on street corners throughout the city.
When Solomon cautioned young men in Proverbs, he was specifically warning against involvement with a married woman, one whose husband was away from home.
The real concern in that case wasn’t prostitution itself, but rather adultery, sex with another man’s wife.
And hey, let’s not forget, Yeshua himself said the prostitutes would enter the Kingdom of God before the Pharisees.
The very people the religious establishment looked down on were closer to God than the ones pointing fingers.
So maybe, just maybe, it’s time we stop condemning what God, Solomon, and even Yeshua never condemned.
Just something to chew on for you there, homie.
Alrighty, that does it for today.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors
and the prostitutes are entering the
kingdom of God ahead of you.”
-Matthew 21:31
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN 1 KINGS CHAPTER 4
You make a fair observation that many religious people completely miss.
Solomon did treat those women with dignity, patience, and justice. That matters. A lot of people in religion are far quicker to condemn sinners than to actually help them.
But I think the conclusion being drawn goes beyond what the text actually says.
The account never says prostitution was morally approved by YHWH. It simply isn’t the focus of the story. The focus is Solomon’s wisdom in identifying the true mother.
The Bible constantly describes situations without stopping to restate every moral principle involved. If narrative silence equals approval, then we would also have to conclude God approved of polygamy, drunkenness, corrupt kings, and all kinds of other things simply because every passage does not pause to condemn them.
And honestly, if prostitution was morally acceptable in Israel, why does the Mosaic Law repeatedly connect it with shame and uncleanness?
“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute.”
Leviticus 19:29
And why forbid prostitute wages from being brought into YHWH’s sanctuary?
The bigger point Jesus was making about prostitutes entering the Kingdom ahead of the Pharisees was not:
“Prostitution is morally fine.”
It was:
“Repentant sinners are closer to God than self-righteous hypocrites.”
That is actually one of the most beautiful themes in the Bible.
YHWH does not dehumanize sinners. Jesus didn’t either. He treated people with dignity while still calling them to repentance and transformation.
So I completely agree that religious people often fail badly at showing compassion.
But compassion toward sinners and approval of sin are two different things.