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Last Published: 7/2/2008 12:51:00 PM
Is Polygamy Wrong
Asked by:
FRANK on
June 19, 2007 at
9:30AM EST
Hi dear beloved ones,
I come from Africa, one of the continent that has recieved a great share of attention in problems....Diseases, Hunger, Corruption, Desertification etc, yet part of the greater tribe of God`s people. I come from a polygamous family, yet i wonder is it wrong to be polygamous. Jacob had two wives, Abraham three, David more than three, Solomon more than three hundred. Samuel the prophet of God was from a polygamous father. Why then is divorce better than to have two wives. Most church leaders here have secret concubines and mistresses and now i wonder, wouldn`t it be better to marry them than hide in sin???
Thanks brethren and God bless
Frank
(6) Answers
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Answered by: SeLahGirl on June 20, 2007 12:41PM EST
Noah got so drunk that he ran around naked and passed out, Jacob lied to his father and pretended to be Esau, and many people commited sexual sins with prostitutes or married many wives. God is patient and merciful, but compromising his perfect plan for us is never without consequence.
Noah's drunkenness resulted in him having to curse his own son. Jacob's lies caused him to have to flee his own home and family and almost caused his twin brother to kill him. And sexual sin and many wives ALWAYS results in much strife and much insecurity among the women and children within the family.
None of that was God's plan.
God is patient, and he will not give up on us because we are sinful creatures. But any time we altar or compromise the perfect plan of God -- we compromise our peace and the well-being of others. It may not cost us our salvation, but there is a chance that it could. Or it could hinder the walk of our children, our wives, or those that our lives touch.
God is patient, but I do not believe that polygamy is part of his blessing for us.
Also, Lot's daughters justified fathering children by their father during a desperate time in the wilderness, but it resulted in a curse for many.
Again this is simply my understanding of what the Scriptures teach. I pray God would bring light and truth to your heart concerning your questions about polygamy. Blessings to you <3
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Answered by: FRANK on June 21, 2007 8:45AM EST
Thanks so much for your simplified version of God`s will on our lives. I have watched the muslims and Africans marry more than one wife, but is there happinnes in it??/. With practical experience i think your understanding is correct and logical.
Thanks so much coz i have been thinking of marrying a second wife,but for now i better focus on my current family. Lots of blessings
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Answered by: Alicia on June 21, 2007 6:02PM EST
For example, Abraham married Hagar because he didn't trust God's plan for him and Sarah, and it resulted in pain for Hagar, Sarah, and the son born of this marriage had "everyone's hand against Him." (Genesis 16:12).
Another example is that David married Bathsheba after committing adultery with her. He had to have her husband killed, and that child was also punished.. in fact, the child died after only a few days. This was obviously not part of God's plan. (see 2 Samuel 11-12 for this story.)
In Nehemiah 13:26 it says, "Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women." Solomon was a great Biblical leader, but he sinned like everyone else, and it was a result of his marriages.
There are many things that happened in the days of the Old Testament that no longer make sense in our society. Many Jewish customs Christians do not have to follow because Jesus died so that we wouldn't be held down by legalism. (not to say we don't have rules, but you get the point... see Romans 5-6, Paul explains it better than me!)
Studying the Bible can be really difficult because God's plan works in so many different ways because of different situations. You have to read the context of the action of the person and look for the consequence and how God's plan was ultimately accomplished.
For example, God's plan was ultimately accomplished through Abraham through his first wife, and His other decisions hindered God's work.
Also, you can see that the children of these marriages suffered- David's child and Hagar's as well. (On the other hand, Samuel grew up in the temple, and it was because of his mother's faith and God's plan, not his polygamous father, that he was such a great prophet.)
This is a question I've never heard discussed before, in American churches I think most people would say it was wrong without having any Biblical proof to back it up. I think the most clear Biblical backing to this is found in Genesis, Matthew, and Mark when it says that a man and woman become "one flesh" in marriage- not "two but one." How can a man become one with two different women? Mathematically it doesn't make sense.
I hope that maybe I have helped you to see what the Holy Spirit has shown me in God's Word. Even if you don't agree with everything I said, you can at least read the passages I refered to and get your own meaning from them and from God. My desire is just that God would speak to you and show you the right way- and who am I or anyone else in this community to tell you which way that is? I pray that God would guide you in this study and show Himself in your life- and I mean it, I'm saying a prayer for you right now! Have a wonderful, blessed day!
(p.s. I'd recommend Biblegateway.com as a Bible reference online, it's free and you can even look up the keyword "polygamy" and see hundreds of passages relating to it!)
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Answered by: Pat Kirk on June 28, 2007 6:05PM EST
Jesus told us that from the beginning it was to be one man for one woman (if anyone wants to supply the verse, feel free. Bible Gateway is great for finding specific verses - agreeing with Alicia).
Anyway, in a purely practical way, it would be difficult to find two women or more who are compatible just because they had the same husband. Look what happened to poor Leah because of Rebekah's jeolousy, and how Leah first poured salt in Rebekah's wounds as she had children and Rebekah didn't. And look at Solomon. Someone in a church I went to, figured it out, and said Solomon probably spent an hour a year with each wife, and when did he have time for his children? Not to mention the financial ramifications.
The Lord probably decreed one man for one woman just to keep us all sane.
Frank, what was your personal experience with it?
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Answered by: Pat on June 30, 2007 4:32AM EST
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Answered by: Tracy Worchoski on June 12, 2008 12:09AM EST
we are doing a story on polygamy. Frank, can you please contact us. Thanks!
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