Did God accept polygamy? Why then would He choose to bless the Old Testament leaders who seemed to have performed polygamy? It is easy to misinterpret that in God blessing them, it portrays that He promotes such a practice. But that argument is farthest from the truth. The leaders in question, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were blessed because our God is a gracious God. It is not what they had done that warranted God’s blessings.
The majority of society today condemns the practice of polygamy. Interestingly, the Bible says nothing about its condemnation. Lamech’s life was the first example of polygamy to be noted in the Bible. Genesis 4:19 mentions the two women who he chose to marry. Following him were other mentionable characters in the Old Testament including David and Solomon who had several wives. 1 Kings 11:3 writes of the seven hundred wives and three hundred …show more content…
Legalistically, the evidence for God’s position on the subject of polygamy is quite irrefutable. Even though He allowed polygamy, it was clear that it was not His divine plan. Monogamy is the defining term for God’s ideal marital relationship. God did not accept polygamy or polyandry (one woman marrying more than one man) as the norm. In fact, in God’s eyes it was sin and it was only mentioned in the Bible so that we can read about the mistakes that our forefathers made in the Old Testament and learn from them.
The New Testament gives us some clarity and transparency into God’s mind about His thoughts on polygamy. Male spiritual leaders are commanded in 1 Timothy 3 to have one wife. Titus 1 also mentions a similar phrase: “the husband of one wife.” While these applications may be for leaders within the church, one can easily argue that it should also apply to the congregation and all clergy within the body of Christ. Holiness does not only apply to some Christians, it applies to all of us and as such we all should follow the teachings and commandments of the
The majority of society today condemns the practice of polygamy. Interestingly, the Bible says nothing about its condemnation. Lamech’s life was the first example of polygamy to be noted in the Bible. Genesis 4:19 mentions the two women who he chose to marry. Following him were other mentionable characters in the Old Testament including David and Solomon who had several wives. 1 Kings 11:3 writes of the seven hundred wives and three hundred …show more content…
Legalistically, the evidence for God’s position on the subject of polygamy is quite irrefutable. Even though He allowed polygamy, it was clear that it was not His divine plan. Monogamy is the defining term for God’s ideal marital relationship. God did not accept polygamy or polyandry (one woman marrying more than one man) as the norm. In fact, in God’s eyes it was sin and it was only mentioned in the Bible so that we can read about the mistakes that our forefathers made in the Old Testament and learn from them.
The New Testament gives us some clarity and transparency into God’s mind about His thoughts on polygamy. Male spiritual leaders are commanded in 1 Timothy 3 to have one wife. Titus 1 also mentions a similar phrase: “the husband of one wife.” While these applications may be for leaders within the church, one can easily argue that it should also apply to the congregation and all clergy within the body of Christ. Holiness does not only apply to some Christians, it applies to all of us and as such we all should follow the teachings and commandments of the