Polygamy in the Bible?
Yes! Always a divine permission.
Yesterday, today and forever.
Our heavenly Father is not morally ambiguous, hopping from one foot of permission & blessing to the other of prohibition & condemnation.
If a man was permitted to have more than one wife in the Old Testament, it remained in the New. As Josephus recorded, (Ant.17.2 [12], "an ancient practice among us" when the Lord ministered in Israel.
Christian marriage includes
monogamy or polygamy
The Lord himself has two wives in a figure, Ezek.23, Jer.3, and in the prophesy of the New Covenant, Jer.31, he spoke of being a husband to them. If the Lord had no hesitation referring to his wives, and accusing them of spiritual adultery, then we can discount the widespread refutation that the creation of one woman for Adam demands monogamy or that the two shall be one flesh demands one man one woman only.
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And Nathan said to David
Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 2Sa 12:7-8
King David, was a polygamist
How many wives did David have BEFORE he took Bathsheba, his neighbor's wife?
The Lord did not condemn David for having
multiple wives.
in fact, He gave them to him.
If David wanted more wives all he had to do was ask.
one man Adam, and one woman Eve.
IF the creation narrative establishes monogamy as the standard then, assuredly, we should expect to see this implication plainly set forth in those sections of the Law of God where the commandments are specifically spelled out, would we not? But on the contrary, we do not.
Would we not expect to see an explicit prohibition against polygamy? Why, then, do we see precisely the OPPOSITE in God’s Law of specific ordinances PERMITTING polygamy (Exo. 21:10; Deut. 21:15-17; Deut. 21:10-14) as well as specific laws MANDATING polygamy in certain situations (Exo. 22:16-17; Deut. 22:28-29; Deut. 25:5-10), as well as the numerous examples of men of God taking multiple wives and the abundant exegetical evidence connected with them supporting the lawfulness of polygamy? Why would God institute that which is CONTRADICTORY to His Law in the ESTABLISHMENT of His Law? Does not the contradiction here go to the very core of the monogamy-only argument? Ought we not to expect consistency from God “with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning?”
the Jews do not agree that the two shall be one flesh means
one man one woman only, and God spoke directly to them for over 2000 years, indeed, God inspired Moses to write those very words in Gen.2:24,
speaking of LIONS
We have heard that nature itself testifies to monogamy, yet the Father referenced the polygamous LION to figure the majesty and power of his only begotten Son, Rev.5.
Then the Father referenced the Lamb [sheep are polygamous] to picture his Son's vicarious offering, and his humility in enduring suffering., Isa.53.
Please name 5 monogamous animals, difficult since most are polygamous.
Augustine
“For by a secret law of nature, things that stand chief love to be singular; but things that are subject are set under, not only one under one, but, if the system of nature or society allow, even several under one, not without becoming beauty. For neither hath one slave so several masters, in the way that several slaves have one master. Thus we read not that any of the holy women served two or more living husbands; but we read that many females served one husband, when the social state of the nation allowed it, and the purpose of the time persuaded it: for NEITHER IS IT CONTRARY TO THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE. For several females can conceive from one man: but one female cannot from several men (such is the power of things principal) AS MANY SOULS ARE RIGHTLY MADE SUBJECT TO ONE GOD.” —from “A Selected Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church ,” Ed. by Philip Schaff, Vol. III, pg. 407-408
we are not demanding polygamy, we are demanding truth be told
Inconvenient truth is rarely heard from the pulpit
The Word of God does not contain inconvenient truth.
How many years have you attended the church(s) of your choice?
Have you been told that David had multiple wives because God gave them to him?
Have you been told that Abraham had multiple concubines?
Have you been told why Tamar was more righteous than Judah?
Have you been given the Bible's definition of adultery?
Have you been told about the two sisters who committed adultery against Jehovah?
In what relationship way is Boaz, Ruth, Rachel, Leah, Pharez, Tamar and Judah linked?
How can one wife for Adam imply monogamy, when years later,
God gave multiple wives to his friend David, and had two wives Himself?
Joshua and Caleb were two men of faith. How many women in Caleb's family? At least three. 1Chronicles 2:42-49.
Gideon had 70 sons by many wives, Judges 8:29-32
Jacob had two wives and two concubines - the twelve sons and tribes resulted
Abimelech had wives and the Lord agreed that taking another woman was "integrity of ..heart, and innocency of .. hands," except Sarah was married.
More things to consider
The prophet Isaiah foretells of polygamy in the future Kingdom.
Was polygamy OK in the Old Testament, not OK in the New, but will be OK again when the Lord reigns in the future?
Ruth was told Boaz was near kin by Naomi, why was this important and why was their son given to Naomi?
Do we think, or were we told Boaz had no other wives when he took Ruth?
Why did the Lord strike Onan dead?
When John the Baptist told Herod Antipas it was unlawful for him to have Herodias, his (half) brother Philip's wife, what Law was John referring to? See Lev.18:15, and Deut.25.
Where does the Bible say monogamy is God's preferred option? Does divine morality come in varying degrees, good, better, best? Then God as a figurative polygamist did not choose his best option and did not understand they shall be one flesh as one husband with one wife only. Jer.31, Ez.23.
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info@polygamybible.com
Joshua and Caleb were two men of faith. How many women in Caleb's family? At least three. 1Chronicles:42-49.
Gideon had 70 sons by many wives, Judges 8:29-32
Jacob had two wives and two concubines - the twelve sons and tribes resulted
Boaz heard the people in the gate wish that Ruth would be like Rachel and Leah, and that his house would be like that of Pharez, son of Tamar and Judah.
All these people have polygamy impacting their lives in a positive way.
The truth does not make us uncomfortable
we are uncomfortable if our Christian tradition does not harmonize with the Word of God
75% of the cultures of the world are polygamous
info@polygamybible.com
Abraham was polygamous - a friend of God
Gideon was polygamous - a soldier for God
Hannah was polygamous - the mother of Samuel
David was polygamist - a father of Christ
Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah
were wives in a polygamous family - 12 tribes of Israel