DOES GOD APPROVE OF POLYGAMY?
A very long time ago, in the garden of eden, God set the perfect standard of marriage by giving adam a wife at Genesis 2:22-24.
And God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man. Then the man said:“This is at last bone of my bonesAnd flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, Because from man she was taken.” That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife, and they will become one flesh
While on earth Jesus supported that same standard of marriage or monogamy by telling his followers at
Matthew 19:4,5
Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female"
Quoting Genesis 2:24, he added
for this reason a man will leave hus father and mother and will stick to his wife.
So what is the issue?
But you may wonder that faithful men of old like David, Abraham, Solomon, Jacob and others married more than one wife.Yes they did, but the bible shows that conflicts and discord happened in this families because of their practice of polygamy.
A quick example is when abram married his wife's servant Hagar, she became pregnant and the bible said she dispised her mistress(Gen 16:1-5).
God's law later told each king to stop multiplying wives for himself.(Deuteronomy 17:17).
He gave this law because the foreign wives may turn the hearts of the kings away from God.
King Solomon is an example that can readily come to your mind. As a king, he disobeyed this law, he married many wifes. The result? 1kings11:5 tells us.
And Solʹo·mon followed after Ashʹto·reth, the goddess of the Si·doʹni·ans, and Milʹcom, the disgusting god of the Amʹmon·ites.
So the practice of polygamy has negative effects as shown in the bible. God's ways are higher than ours, in the past he allowed the practice of polygamy temporarily for important reasons such as improving the growth and population of the nation so that they would survive until the messiah comes. During hard times, this practice helped women to have shelter in time past. But we should have it in mind that this practice was not originated by God. He only tolerated it for a limited time.
As we all know, Jesus is the final authority for all Christians today
That is why when Jesus came to the earth, he supported God's original view of marriage which is monogamy. A man will part ways with his father and mother and stick with his wife (not wifes) then the two of them will become one.
But what do you guys think? Should Christians practise polygamy? Drop your comments below.
From the scriptures, God approved just one wife for a man. That is why a woman would leave her parents to stick to her husband. I like the wedding pictures you uploaded. Nice writeup.
Thank you very much
In the old testament God's children were living by the law, and that was why Jesus brought the new testament, God approves of only one wife, the aspect if the polygamy you see in the bible, was the old testament Te bible said, old things are past away and everything has become new.
That's why these days we live by grace and not by law.
Live in faith and not by sight.
I enjoyed reading your post
Thank you for stopping by.
So Grace forbids what the Law allowed?
A thought-provoking question. Thanks for sharing your opinions on the topic and sharing bible accounts regarding marriage.
Upvoted & Resteemed
J8.
From the scriptures, Matthew 19 3:6
God authorized Jesus Christ to reinstitute His original standard of monogamy,While I agree with monogamy , the Bible has many examples of men with more than one wife , and appears not to condemn this.
Very true.. Thanks a lot
No
This actually needs a good explanation which I will try my best to write on.
The standard God set in Eden with the first marriage was that of monogamy. Jesus Christ later reaffirmed that standard for his followers.—Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-6.
Did not such men as Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon of pre-Christian times have more than one wife? Yes, but how does the Bible portray that arrangement? It reveals the friction and strife that arose in the families of Abraham and Jacob as a result of the practice. (Genesis 16:1-4; 29:18–30:24) Later, God’s Law included this directive to each king: “He should . . . not multiply wives for himself, that his heart may not turn aside.” (Deuteronomy 17:15, 17) Solomon disregarded that statute by marrying over 700 wives! Tragically, Solomon’s heart did indeed turn aside from Jehovah because of the bad influence of his many wives. (1 Kings 11:1-4) Clearly, the Bible paints a negative picture of polygamy.
Still, some might wonder why God chose to tolerate polygamy among his people. Consider: Have you ever temporarily tolerated a piece of furniture though it needed to be replaced, perhaps reasoning that it would prove impractical or disruptive to remove it for now? Of course, God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our own. (Isaiah 55:8, 9) Yet, we may discern some practical reasons why he tolerated polygamy for a time.
Remember that in Eden, Jehovah promised a “seed” who would ultimately destroy Satan. Later, Abraham was told that he would father a great nation and that the foretold Seed would come from his family line. (Genesis 3:15; 22:18) Satan was determined to prevent that Seed from arriving. He was thus bent on destroying that ancient nation of Israel. He often seduced Israel into sin so that the nation would lose God’s favor and protection.
To counter the attacks, Jehovah repeatedly sent his prophets to warn his people when they veered from righteous standards. However, he knew in advance that his people would often fail to obey even the most basic of commands, such as the one against idolatry. (Exodus 32:9) If they would struggle to obey so basic a law, how would they fare with a law against polygamy? With his perfect grasp of human nature, Jehovah saw that it was not yet the time to forbid that practice, which was already long-established in those days. Had he done so, Satan would have found a very easy means of seducing Israel into sin.
God’s temporary toleration of polygamy had other advantages. It helped the nation to grow rapidly. The larger population helped to ensure the nation’s survival until the time of the Messiah. Polygamy may also have provided a measure of protection for some women, giving them shelter and a household in dangerous times.
Keep in mind, though, that Jehovah did not originate this practice. He tolerated it for a limited time, while strictly regulating it to prevent abuses. (Exodus 21:10, 11; Deuteronomy 21:15-17) When Jehovah chose to end the practice of polygamy among his worshippers, he used his own Son to reaffirm the marital standard set in Eden. Jesus thus forbade polygamy among his followers. (Mark 10:8) Then, this truth became even clearer: The Law of Moses was fine in its time, but “the law of the Christ” is even better.—Galatians 6:2.
My brother. I had to read it all. Thanks a lot.
It is not a wise descision to have multiple partners in any case, it goes against the word of God.
I totally agree. Thank you
In the initail of cretion God gave adam eve and not eves so polygamy is nit allowed by God
Of course not. It was well said in the bible that every man is entitled to one wife same as a woman entitled to one husband
"Entitled"?
GOD CREATED ONE WOMAN FOR ADAM NOT TWO....
God wants us married to one person, not two..... Thanks
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