A Man of Many Wives:  Does God condone polygamy?

[A Man of Many Wives:  Does God condone polygamy? by Roger Patterson] 1 Kings 11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober–minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach . . .

"As we look at the Bible, it is clear that polygamous relationships are presented in the Bible. But, does that mean that they are acceptable in God’s eyes? We also see instances of lying, murder, and rape in the Bible, but these are clearly not acceptable. Just because the events are described does not mean they are condoned. There is no passage in the Bible that condones polygamy.

Beginning in Genesis it is clear that God intended marriage to be between one woman and one man. Genesis 2 records the creation of one woman for Adam, and in verse 24 we see that because of this “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” If two makes one flesh, then three or more cannot also make one flesh. This is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:3–9 as He is being questioned about divorce. Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 as support for the idea of marriage being between one man and one woman “from the beginning.” God’s plan, from the beginning, was not for polygamous relationships.

As the Israelites were in the desert after the Exodus, God announces a prophecy through Moses. The Israelites will eventually call for a king to be set over them (Deuteronomy 17:14). Following that, God pronounces standards for the kings to come. In Deuteronomy 17:17 we see the command that the king shall not “multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.” God clearly commands that the king should not practice polygamy. So, why would He condone its practice for anyone else?

Many Jewish leaders and patriarchs, including kings, were recorded to have polygamous relationships. However, these relationships brought about judgment and hardship. David was punished for his relationship with Bathsheba; Abraham’s relationship with Hagar brought strife into the family; and other examples would also bear out this point. Some may argue that Jacob’s polygamous lifestyle was blessed by God, but just because God used a sinful relationship to fulfill His plan does not mean that that action was right. Likewise, Jesus’s lineage can be traced back to Bathsheba.

Polygamy was popular in many cultures, but that does not mean that it was right in God’s eyes. Divorce was also allowed because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites (Matthew 19:8), but it was not part of God’s “very good” creation. Jesus called the Jews of the day an “adulterous generation” who chose to live outside of God’s rules and, instead, made their own. Just because the Jews (or any other peoples) tolerated polygamy does not mean that God condoned it." A Man of Many Wives:  Does God condone polygamy? by Roger Patterson http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/12/01/contradictions-a-man-of-many-wives

Response to comment [from other]:  "Of course polygamy is is acceptable in God's eyes since God practices polygamy..."

Biblical illiteracy is the great sin in our culture.  Polygamy is forbidden (Deut. 17:17; Lev. 18:18; Mal. 2:14, 15; Matt. 19:4, 5; Mark 10:2–8; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Tit. 1:6).

Response to comment [from a Christian]:  "You have the gall to talk about biblical illiteracy?"

Do you want two wives?

"The only thing in the New Testament that is applicable to the issue here is the restriction of only one wife if one desires to be an elder."

If you do not wish to be an elder you can have two wives? Deut. 17:17; Lev. 18:18; Mal. 2:14, 15; Matt. 19:4, 5; Mark 10:2–8; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Tit. 1:6.

"From a Christian perspective.. the most desirable situation is to remain single, so you have more time to devote to the Lord and his sheep."

There is no requirement to stay single. 

See:

No celibacy of priests http://vananne.com/culttoasters/No%20Celibacy%20of%20Priests.htm

Crime in the church (polygamy) http://www.childpro.org/

Crime in the church (pedophilia) http://www.silentlambs.org/

"I said, from a Christian point of view, the New Testament encourages singleness...it doesn't require it."

I doesn't encourage it either.  "The question of a Christian staying single and what the Bible says about believers never marrying is often misunderstood. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:7-8: “I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.” Notice that he says some have the gift of singleness and some the gift of marriage. Although it seems that nearly everyone marries, it is not necessarily God's will for everyone..."  Full text:  What does the Bible say about a Christian staying single?  http://www.gotquestions.org/single-Christian.html

"And look at the [O]ld [T]estament.. many, if not all key figures had multiple wives... think King David and Solomon."

Stating a fact of history is not an endorsement of polygamy.  Polygamy is forbidden (Deut. 17:17; Lev. 18:18; Mal. 2:14, 15; Matt. 19:4, 5; Mark 10:2–8; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Tit. 1:6). 

Response to comment [from a Muslim]:  "Polygamy is valid in the eyes of God. You need to study the [B]ible."

Let's dehumanize women, too. "A Burqa is a tool for dehumanizing the wearer. For making it difficult for them to have any individual interaction outside the home..." Full text: Dehumanizing Moslem Women with the Burqa and Sharia

Mt 7:16.

Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "Polygamy was clearly tolerated at least in OT times."

Are you pro-polygamy?

Response to comment [from a Christian]:  [Deut 17:17]

Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold [Deut. 17:16–17].
"Here are the rules for the king. It is interesting to note that King Solomon transgressed these rules. First of all, he multiplied horses. When I was at Megiddo, the thing that impressed me there was not so much the battlefield of Armageddon as the ruins of the stables of Solomon. The stables of Solomon would have made any of the racetracks in this country look like a tenant farmer’s barn down in Georgia. And other stables have been excavated at several additional sites. This man, Solomon, went all out in that direction. God warned against this. The raising of horses would get one entangled with Egypt because that was the place where very fine horses were bred.
Then, Solomon transgressed by multiplying wives to himself. God put up warning signs long before Israel ever had a king: “Don’t go this way. Be careful.” Yet Solomon had many, many wives. It was his wives who turned his heart away from God.
Third, God warned against trying to corner the silver and gold market of that day. Yet that is exactly what Solomon did. David had begun it—but David was collecting silver and gold to build the temple, but Solomon continued collecting silver and gold for himself. This was the undoing of Solomon, and the grievous taxation was the direct cause of the division of Israel as a nation into the northern and southern kingdoms after Solomon’s death."
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 1:ix-576

[Lev 18:18]

Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time [Lev. 18:17–18].
"This relationship is not by blood, but by marriage. Because of the close relationship of the wife to a daughter or son, any marriage is forbidden. Evidently both of these verses have reference to having two wives at the same time. It is labeled incest here, instead of bigamy. Notice the Berkeley Version on these two verses: “Do not expose the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter; neither take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to expose her; they are blood relatives. It is incest. While your wife is still living do not take her sister for a rival to expose her nakedness” (Lev. 18:17–18).
This was the problem poor Jacob faced in having two sisters as wives—Leah and Rachel. The story of this family was certainly not a happy one. Remember, however, that Jacob lived before the Ten Commandments had been given."
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 1:ix-409

 

[An excerpt John MacArthur:  Feminism's Radical Agenda] "...[C]onflict began in Genesis 3. But it really continued to escalate all the way through the book of Genesis. Let me remind you of something. In chapter 4 and verse 23 of Genesis you have the first case of polygamy and God's original intention of one man and one woman for life was violated. Polygamy became a common thing, as we know, throughout Old Testament times, and still today in many cultures of the world is practiced.

In chapter 9 and verse 22 you have the first lustful look, pornography, you could say, begins in chapter 9. And it corrupts the purity of single-minded devotion.

In chapter 16 verses 1 to 3 in Genesis you have the first case of adultery. In chapter 19 you have the entrance of homosexuality with all of its perversiveness. In chapter 34 verses 1 and 2, fornication is introduced. In chapter 38 is the first case of incest. In chapter 38 verse 24 is the first prostitute, the first woman to sell her body. In chapter 39, the first specific incident is recorded of a seduction.

So before you ever get out of Genesis, marriage and the family is under a major satanic assault. No wonder marriages face such terrible conflicts. A woman struggling to gain rule over her own husband, a husband dominating unkindly his unruly wife, both exposed to the influence of a satanic society, both possessing unredeemed flesh which is pandered to by the society in a myriad of temptations. They are exposed to polygamy, evil thoughts, vile words, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, incest, prostitution and seduction. And you could ask the question, "What chance does a marriage have?" And in our day, slim. To make it worse, the worst of all of that is exalted in our culture as acceptable and normal and in most cases even desirable. That kind of behavior, which we just described, polygamy, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, incest, prostitution and seduction, makes up much of the theater of our time, the movies of our time, the books of our time, the songs of our time, the television of our time." Feminism's Radical Agenda http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-99_Feminisms-Radical-Agenda?q=polygamy

A Man of Many Wives: Does God condone polygamy?