24 And the king saith, 'Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king, 25 and the king saith, 'Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.' 26 And the woman whose son 'is' the living one saith unto the king (for her bowels yearned over her son), yea, she saith, 'O, my lord, give to her the living child, and put it not at all to death;' and this 'one' saith, 'Let it be neither mine or thine—cut 'it'.' 27 And the king answereth and saith, 'Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she 'is' its mother.' 28 And all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God 'is' in his heart, to do judgment.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 3:24-28
Commentary on 1 Kings 3:16-28
(Read 1 Kings 3:16-28)
An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.