Bible Question:
I'm glad Steve that it convinces you... but it gives very little with which to impress others one way or the other. 1Corinthians 7:2 is basically saying that if you can't control yourself... get married. Both men and women. But that in itself is not teaching marriage to only one wife per say. Paul states also that it is even better to remain single if one can practice self-control. After reading your last post concerning monogamy being the "rule", and polygamy being the exception to the "rule", I did some checking in the OT and found that MANY, MANY men either had multiple wives and/or concubines. So it is very possible that polygamy was not the "exception", but rather, an option. My question still stands though. If polygamy is wrong, why didn't God condemn the practice, and/or at least speak out against it to those who practiced it? Such as Abraham, Jacob/Israel, many of his descendants including David, Solomon, etc. |
Bible Answer: Response............... Well, if my answer doesn't satisfy your question, you should continue to ask it. :-) Let's narrow this to the meat of your inquiry. You gave some well-known examples of men who had multiple wives and want to know if it's wrong. And if it's wrong, why did God not condemn the practice outright? First let's look at whther or not it's correct. I'm going to use some terms I learned in hermeneutics class. 1. First mention -- This is important in establishing the proper purpose or intent of a matter. In this case the very first union was one man and one woman (Gen 2:21-25). 2. Pattern -- Look at the genealogies. Polygamy is not mentioned from Seth to Abraham/Jacob. Yet in Cain's line the sinful deterioration happens so quickly that it's only five generations (Gen 4:19). The godly line maintained the God's purpose. My conclusion is that polygamy is not God's desire. Second. Why didn't God condemn it? 1. The language of the Mosaic law assumes one man joined to one woman. The grammar is always singular. 2. God explicitly told the Israelites that if they chose a king to reign over them the king was forbidden from multiplying wives. (Deut 17:17). God doesn't need to repeat Himself, though He will. My conclusion: God did condemn it. People just would not listen. Steve |