Is polygamy ok to God?

[trofimus]

My understanding is:

1. It is better not to marry, but better to marry than to burn (lust)
2. Except for certain leaders of the church, you are not limited to one spouse
3. Once you take a spouse, you are tied to and responsible to them FOREVER

But really - isn't one enough trouble?

Agreed with 1 and 3.

I do not know why is 1 so overlooked between protestants. Stay single! Its the best way! Only if we cannot control ourselves, the marriage is the way.

And yes, its for the whole life.

On the other hand, monogamy is for all of us, not just leaders. Because Jesus defined marriage in Luke to be for one man and one woman till the end of their lives.

 

[Magenta]

It was OK, look at David, Abraham, Moses etc.

Your verse means something different. That husband should not send his (old) wife away, but he should remember the promise he made when they were young.

It is not related to the number of wives.

Remember the promise to be faithful to the wife of your youth by bedding more women? Your position is untenable. Look at David commit adultery and murder, and you say, hey, it is okay. Wow. NO. IT IS NOT AND NEVER WAS OKAY.

Oh my goodness, your examples leave much to be desired. Sarah gave Abraham her handmaid because she did not wait upon the promise of our Lord to be fulfilled (did she even believe it?), and look at all the problems it caused, and causes to this day. That wild ass of a man whose hand is against everyone, this you think is an okay outcome? I know you don't.

There is zero evidence that Moses was a polygamist.

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?

11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god.

12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.

14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

 

[trofimus]

Remember the promise to be faithful to the wife of your youth by bedding more women? Your position is untenable. Look at David commit adultery and murder, and you say, hey, it is okay. Wow. NO. IT IS NOT AND NEVER WAS OKAY.

Oh my goodness, your examples leave much to be desired. Sarah gave Abraham her handmaid because she did not wait upon the promise of our Lord to be fulfilled (did she even believe it?), and look at all the problems it caused, and causes to this day. That wild ass of a man whose hand is against everyone, this you think is an okay outcome? I know you don't.

There is zero evidence that Moses was a polygamist.

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?

11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god.

12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.

14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

David committed adultery, because the woman he slept with was already married to another man.

Faithful in your verse does not mean the same thing as it means in English today, used in relationships and dating ("you will be only with me!").
There in the Bible it means "keep the promise".

 

[serpentdove]

...houldn't we look at what God has said and what He has...done about it?

No (Eph 8:11).

...multiple men of God were married to more than one woman simultaneously without conviction...

When the bible records a crime, it is not endorsing said crime (Ex 20;14).

 

[resurrection33]

He said I gave you all his wives after David took another's wife and then had him killed.. To me God said you had you're own and if you weren't satisfied I would have given you more...

Just because the Lord gives you something doesn't mean he wants you to have it. I already explained that to you. He gave Israel a king, not because he wanted Israel to have a king, but because Israel demanded one.

 

[RedeemedGift]

Hi redeemed
I can see You could write a whole book about it Hahaha
I find it interesting. Maybe the bible doesn't explicitly says that polygamy is a sin.
But we should consider 1°Cor 6:12 and 10:23
For example smoking one single cigarette it's not forbidden either but it might be not good for people, because of the consequences that doing do could bring to your life, so we avoid smoking.
If you look at all the problems and suffering that polygamy brought to the people you mentioned, anyone would get to the conclusion that polygamy is not good either.

Well, seeing as it took me so long to write that one post, I think I'd be in a coffin before I finished such a book. But I know it is important to defend God's holiness as ambassadors of Christ, and that's what matters to me on this subject. I'm not an advocate for polygyny at all.

Yes, I tend to agree with you that whilst many things aren't sinful for us they are not all helpful. I think polygyny is very unhelpful for a Christian man for the most part.

Yes. I think the sin in smoking is the addiction to it, and if we have that one-off cigarette in the presence of a brother or sister who is trying to quit it can weaken them significantly.

I am sure that polygyny opens the door to potentially more problems than in monogamous marriage, and whilst there are examples of problems with believers having multiple wives, I am certain that there are many in ancient Israel who had multiple wives without a single problem, also. If God in His wisdom knew that polygyny would instantly bring problems, perhaps we could say that He should not have institutionalised levirate marriage at all for example? I don't think we can say that.

 

[samuel23]

I know what the bible says on this subject having studied it for ages. Marriage was sacred and not to be broken, a man could not take another man's wife(though divorce was allowed under the law), having more then one wife was never called a sin in the bible, actually most of the Godly men of the bible had more then one wife. Paul restricted the leaders of the church to one wife, it also appears that at the time the practice of having more then one wife was not all that common. Note, we should be careful not to call something sin that God has not called a sin, polygamy in the bible is NEVER called a sin.

 

[trofimus]

I know what the bible says on this subject having studied it for ages. Marriage was sacred and not to be broken, a man could not take another man's wife(though divorce was allowed under the law), having more then one wife was never called a sin in the bible, actually most of the Godly men of the bible had more then one wife. Paul restricted the leaders of the church to one wife, it also appears that at the time the practice of having more then one wife was not all that common. Note, we should be careful not to call something sin that God has not called a sin, polygamy in the bible is NEVER called a sin.

What you say is true only till Christ.

Christ said it very clearly - now only monogamy is allowed and this is for all, not just for leaders.

"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery."
Luke 16:18

Anyone who marries another woman commits adultery.

 

[RedeemedGift]

No (Eph 8:11).

When the bible records a crime, it is not endorsing said crime (Ex 20;14).

Ephesians 8:11?

What crime are you speaking of? The penalty of adultery was death. You only have to go to the next chapter of Exodus, verse 10, to see that God commands that the marital rights are not to be withheld from the first wife of a man who marries another woman. If that is adultery, then we have to ask why God seemingly cannot remember His own commandments from a chapter back.

Just because the Lord gives you something doesn't mean he wants you to have it. I already explained that to you. He gave Israel a king, not because he wanted Israel to have a king, but because Israel demanded one.

This is exactly the same argument Catholics use when defending Mary mother of Jesus' perpetual virginity though she was married.

And I think you have in one sentence destroyed the idea of God's sovereignty over His own people.

 

[samuel23]

What you say is true only till Christ.

Christ said it very clearly - now only monogamy is allowed and this is for all, not just for leaders.

"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery."
Luke 16:18

Anyone who marries another woman commits adultery.

Why would Jesus use the parable of one man who was to marry ten women if He had considered the practice a sin? To divorce your wife and marry another is sin, but to marry another wife is not sin in the bible. Note, it is very dangerous for any of us to attempt to change the bible for any reason.

 

[trofimus]

Why would Jesus use the parable of one man who was to marry ten women if He had considered the practice a sin? To divorce your wife and marry another is sin, but to marry another wife is not sin in the bible. Note, it is very dangerous for any of us to attempt to change the bible for any reason.

Parable is parable, command is command.

Divorce is a sin, agreed.

But divorce is not adultery.

Having more than one woman is adultery.

 

[trofimus]

Why would Jesus use the parable of one man who was to marry ten women if He had considered the practice a sin? To divorce your wife and marry another is sin, but to marry another wife is not sin in the bible. Note, it is very dangerous for any of us to attempt to change the bible for any reason.

Christ has only one bride - Church.

But because there are many Christians in the Church, Christ used more brides as example of various kind of Christians.

We can never use any parable in any other way than it is used. Because it is a parable.

 

[serpentdove]

Ephesians 8:11? What crime are you speaking of?

The crime of adultery (Ex 20:14) punishable by death (Lev. 20:10–12)--not in our culture

--you're made

President (Is 5:20).

Polygamy is contrary to: God’s Law (Gen. 2:24), marriage covenant (Ps. 128:1–6), God’s commandment (Ex. 20:14), relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:22–33). Productive of: dissension (Gen. 16:1–6), discord (1 Sam. 1:6) and degeneracy (1 Kin. 11:1–4). Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996). Nelson’s quick reference topical Bible index (p. 495). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

[serpentdove]

Having more than one woman is adultery.

The Donald

has a wife who lives down the street in a hut. His First Concubine/Adulteress

lives in the White House (Rom. 7:2, 3). This is Sodom aka America so we make it up as we go along (Jer. 16:2).

"If God doesn't judge America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” ~ Billy Graham

 

[samuel23]

The crime of adultery (Ex 20:14) punishable by death (Lev. 20:10–12)--not in our culture

--you're made

President (Is 5:20).

Polygamy is contrary to: God’s Law (Gen. 2:24), marriage covenant (Ps. 128:1–6), God’s commandment (Ex. 20:14), relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:22–33). Productive of: dissension (Gen. 16:1–6), discord (1 Sam. 1:6) and degeneracy (1 Kin. 11:1–4). Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996). Nelson’s quick reference topical Bible index (p. 495). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Sorry, but you folks are making me nauseous with your self righteous attitude that you will outwit God so as to get your own way. It is not about the subject, in this case I could care less who has one wife and if someone has two or more. I see folks do this sort of thing with the bible over and over, they are going to walk right up to the throne of God if they have to and grab Him by the robe, and insist on it being THEIR WAY. This is such an easy place in the bible to recognize, God did not create polygamy but He allowed it and did not call it a sin, God did not create humans to eat meat but He allowed it and did not call it a sin.

 

[serpentdove]

[Ten virgins] We can never use any parable in any other way than it is used. Because it is a parable.

Is he trying to make God out to be a polygamist

to justify his sin?

Eph 4:14

 

[trofimus]

The Donald

has a wife who lives down the street in a hut. His First Concubine/Adulteress

lives in the White House (Rom. 7:2, 3). This is Sodom aka America so we make it up as we go along (Jer. 16:2).

"If God doesn't judge America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” ~ Billy Graham

Maybe there are 10 righteous ones in the USA, preserving it and protecting against judgement...

 

[samuel23]

Is he trying to make God out to be a polygamist

to justify his sin?

Sorry, but you are way out of line from the truth...but you are over in Burger King land...where you get it your way. Seriously girl, you need to be careful about changing the bible to fit your personal beliefs, that is placing yourself above God, not good.

 

[serpentdove]

...I could care less who has one wife and if someone has two or more...

We know (Heb 13:4).

This will come again

at the Great White Throne.

 

[RedeemedGift]

The crime of adultery (Ex 20:14) punishable by death (Lev. 20:10–12)--not in our culture

--you're made

President (Is 5:20).

Polygamy is contrary to: God’s Law (Gen. 2:24), marriage covenant (Ps. 128:1–6), God’s commandment (Ex. 20:14), relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:22–33). Productive of: dissension (Gen. 16:1–6), discord (1 Sam. 1:6) and degeneracy (1 Kin. 11:1–4). Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996). Nelson’s quick reference topical Bible index (p. 495). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

So you are saying the sin of adultery applies to the commandments God gave in Exodus 21:10, Deuteronomy 21:15 and Deuteronomy 25:5-6? Where is the death penalty applied? Did God make a mistake in His Law?

A man can be one flesh with even a prostitute as Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:16. In order to declare polygyny a sin we have no choice but to use eisegetical hermeneutics. I mean, 1 Kings 11:6 states clearly that Solomon, who we know was a lover of foreign women, did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord with all of his heart like his father David who was also a polygynyst.