Today's Scripture Reading (October 11, 2022): 1 Kings 3
I love stories, listening to them, and telling them. And sometimes, it doesn't matter how many times I have heard an account; I still feel excited as the storyteller nears the plot's climax. I know, I
am a bit weird. Many of my friends seem to tire of repeatedly hearing the same
stories. But I love hearing the
stories, even if I have listened to them before.
Apparently, the ancient rabbis loved to tell stories, even old
ones. And when a story became too old, they simply changed up the plot a little to keep the story
fresh. We all know the story of Solomon's wise decision in the dispute between two mothers over a
child. Both women had given birth to a child, but
one of the children had died. As a
result, both women claimed to be the parent of the child who was left alive. Solomon decided to cut the child in half and give
half a child to each mother. Of course, that meant killing the second child.
One mother thought Solomon's solution was wonderful, but the other mourned the child's death. Regardless of who the mother was, she wanted
the child to live. Solomon understood that the one who tried to protect the child had to be the mother, and even if she wasn't, she was the one who deserved to be a mother. And so, Solomon ordered that the child be given to
her. It didn't take long
for the wisdom of the King to travel throughout the nation. The people were justifiably
in awe. The story has also been repeatedly told throughout the history of Israel.
The rabbis told that story, but they also began to relate a second story. Once upon a time, a demon showed Solomon something he had never seen before. The demon presented Solomon with a Cainite, a
race of people who had all died in the Great Flood. The demon brought the
Cainite up from the ground, and Solomon noticed that the Cainite had two heads.
The Cainite wanted to return to the place he came from; he understood that he didn't belong here at this time and in this place. But neither the demon nor
Solomon knew how to send the Cainite back, so he lived a second life. The
Cainite married and had children, seven sons, only one of which shared his father's Cainite trait of possessing two heads.
Eventually, the Cainite died, and his sons were left to divide up the inheritance. The son with
two heads believed he had the right to get a double share
of the inheritance, twice as much as his brothers,
one for each head. The Sanhedrin tried to solve the problem but couldn't. And so, the case was brought before Solomon. Solomon prayed for wisdom and then dumped hot water on
one of the heads. When both heads flinched and cried out in pain, Solomon
decided that even though the son had two heads, he was really one person and
should only receive one share of
his father's
inheritance.
And once again, the people were amazed at the King's wisdom.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 45
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