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The Problem of Polygamy

Words of Faith Final

The Problem of Polygamy
Words of Faith 6-7-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 31
[17] Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, [18] and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

If you are like me, you can't read these passages without wincing a little bit, or maybe a lot. The glaring reality we find in the story of God's people is that many of the Old Testament leaders and faith heroes had more than one wife. What gives? Does the Bible teach polygamy as a Godly or acceptable lifestyle choice?
No. God did not say polygamy was acceptable to Him. Polygamy was never the original design of God for His people. But it does appear that for a while, like divorce, polygamy was permitted (tolerated really) because of the sin of man and his hardness of heart.
1 Corinthians 7:2 makes it very clear that marriage is a union between one man and one woman: "Each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband." Ephesians 5 gives us God's highest teaching regarding marriage, and this passage clearly speaks only of the husband and wife in the singular.
So why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament? We don't know for sure. The Bible does not explicitly say why God allowed or tolerated polygamy. Many scholars point out that in the ancient world, as today, women outnumbered men. 50.5 percent of the world population is female, and 49.5 percent are male. Add to this the fact that warfare often wiped out entire generations of men skewing the balance even more.
It was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to provide for herself in patriarchal societies because they were often uneducated and untrained. Unmarried women were often subjected to prostitution and slavery. These results of sin may have been the purpose for which God allowed polygamy. While we do not know the mind of God on this, it seems that God may have allowed polygamy to protect and provide for the women who could not find a husband otherwise.
How does God view polygamy today? Even while allowing polygamy, the Bible is absolutely clear in presenting monogamy as the plan which conforms most closely to God's ideal for marriage. The Bible says that God's original intention was for one man to be married to only one woman: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife (not wives), and they will become one flesh (not fleshes)" (Genesis 2:24).
While Genesis 2:24 describes what marriage is, rather than how many people are involved, there is consistent use of singular language. In the New Testament, 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6 give "the husband of one wife" in a list of qualifications for spiritual leadership. In no sense can a polygamist be considered a "one-woman man."
While these qualifications are specifically for positions of spiritual leadership, they should apply equally to all Christians. Should not all Christians be "above reproach... temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money" (1 Timothy 3:2-4)?
Why did this change from the Old Testament allowance? This was not so much God's disallowing something He previously allowed as it was God's restoring marriage to His original plan.
Most modern nations outlaw polygamy. According to Romans 13:1-7, we are to obey the laws the government establishes. The only instance in which disobeying the law is permitted by Scripture is if the law contradicts God's commands (Acts 5:29). Since God only allowed for polygamy and did not command it, a law prohibiting polygamy should be upheld.
Because of this, polygamy is not even an issue that has generated debate among Christians. Other world religions such as Islam and Mormonism have historically practiced polygamy, but Christian marriage has always been ONE man and ONE woman. Due to the "one flesh" aspect of marriage, the need for oneness and harmony in marriage, and the lack of any real need for polygamy, it is clear that polygamy does not honor God and is not His design for marriage.
One of the concerns today as some states and governments "redefine" marriage as something other than a union between one man and one woman is that this begins a slippery slope. If marriage is defined in other ways, then it can be defined as almost any other arrangement. This is why we are called to honor God's Word and His original design and plan.

Lord God, I give thanks to You for the first institution You gave as a gift to humans—marriage between one man and one woman. Show me ways to celebrate the grand witness of this institution. Teach me how to honor that which You have established and defined. Show me how to best express and defend Your truths. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.