Question:
“God never established, founded, blessed, commanded or
instituted polygamy.”
--Quote
from one of your Q&A’s.
He
actually did in various laws in the Old Testament.
For example, Exodus 21:10. It
is quite a mistake and I know that you wouldn’t want someone to view that and
then see God’s law even commanded polygamy in some cases (like a brother had
to marry his deceased brother’s widow if she was childless).
Below
are lists of verses if someone wants to redo the answer to that Q&A.
God
bless,
Rachel
Answer: Dear Rachel,
The
entire context of my reply to the question to which you have reference includes:
1.
The standard God set at the beginning was monogamy – see Genesis 1:27
and
2.
Throughout the Old Testament and included within the old covenant, God
warns that men (in that patriarchal society) not “multiply wives”. The Law of Moses is clear (Deut. 17:17).
3.
Jesus reaffirms this practice in Matthew 19:4 – one male and one
female. Paul says the same in I Cor.
7:2.
4.
Ephesians 5 tells us that the relationship between Christ, the head of
the church, and the church, is monogamous.
5.
God reveals himself to us as one God, and the Judeo-Christian tradition
therefore insists on the monotheism as a basis of knowing and worshipping the
one true God.
Therefore:
6.
God never established, blessed, commanded or instituted polygamy.
A study of those who engaged in polygamy in the Old Testament reveals
that they all paid dearly in fractured families.
7.
It is illogical to assume that since the Bible records people behaving in
a particular way or manner that God is recommending it.
8.
The first place in the Old Testament that mentions a man having two wives
is within the context of a society in rebellion against God – see Genesis
4:19,23.
9.
God permitted polygamy – just like He permitted many things (and
continues to do so) because, as Jesus said about divorce, “of the hardness of
your hearts”.
Further,
logic demands that the biblical record prescribes monogamy, and prohibits, for
those who obey and follow God, polygamy – why?
1.
As mentioned above, God gave the first man only one wife.
A great opportunity, if he wanted us all to have multiple partners, to
teach us this lesson. But he did not.
2.
Birth records throughout time demonstrate that births of males and
females are about equal. As
Creator, if God wanted men to have more than one wife then He would have
designed the human reproductive system to produce twice as many females as males
(at the very least).
3.
All laws, prohibitions, standards, and statements of value about marriage
in both the Old and New Testament command monogamy – and prohibit adultery
(indeed, the 10 Commandments devote one commandment to this matter).
4.
As stated above, the picture of the relationship between Christ and the
church is monogamy.
5.
Also stated above, simply because the Bible records humans making a
choice to sin does not mean that such a negative record approves of the
action/behavior and recommends it.
Many examples in the Bible are available.
God does not change. The
fact that He allows or permits humans to make choices does not mean He agrees
with those choices – He feels exactly the same way about wrong choices as He
always has.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht