Why More Then One Wife

[LadyKay]

I don't know if this has been asked before so I will keep it short and to the point. But does anyone know why in the Old Testament men had more then one wife? Why is it wrong now to have more then one wife? Is it wrong?

[OakWood]

Yes it is wrong. In the Old Testament, incest occurred too. Would you ask if that is wrong?

[missmuffet]

The Bible does not say why God allowed polygamy in the Old Testament.The Bible says that having more than one wife can cause problems 1 Kings 11:3-4.There is speculation why God allowed it but it is only that....speculation.Today it is against the laws of our government and the Bible says we are to keep those laws Romans 13:1-7. The only way we are to disobey those laws is if the law contradicts God's commands Acts 5:29.

[ayin jade]

God set the pattern with one man and one woman: Adam and Eve. 

 

The first one to have multiple wives was lamech who was also a murderer from the line of cain. 

 

Genesis 4

23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have killed a man because of my wound, and a young man because of my hurt.

24 For Cain is avenged seven times, and Lamech seventy-seven times.

 

 

It is clear that more than one wife is not a good thing to the Lord. That some had more than one wife was not something God approved of but it was something He permitted. As He permitted israel to have kings when they asked for a king despite knowing how bad that would work out for them. 

[LadyKay]

Yes it is wrong. In the Old Testament, incest occurred too. Would you ask if that is wrong?

I do not know why you are asking me about incest. I asume this is a place to ask a Bible questions without being made out to be stupide which I feel you are doing by asking me such a thing.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings LadyKay

 

When you read God's Word, you read about great men of faith, men who lived their lives for God like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Solomon. These men did great things for God and are used as examples of how to live a Godly life. These men were also richly blessed by God. However, they all had one glaring issue that cannot be ignored. They all had multiple wives! This fact often confuses people who are curious how these great men of God could be so blessed but living in blatant rebellion to God in this area of their life. The reality is, they forfeited many of the blessings they should have had because of this sin in their life.

The Bible is perfectly clear about God's Holy Institution of Marriage. It is one man, with one woman, for one lifetime. God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and Julie. Or Adam and Eve, Julie, Cathy, and Susan. God's plan for marriage was one man and one woman. In Genesis 2:24 God's intention is clearly presented when He says, "They shall be one flesh." In giving the qualifications for a king in Deuteronomy Chapter 17, Verse 17, God clearly states that the king was not to have multiple wives. In giving the qualifications for those who lead the church in 1 Timothy 3:2 and 12 and in Titus 1:6, the Bible states that these men are to have only one wife. This passage in the Greek is not only speaking of someone who has not been divorced, but makes it clear that having multiple wives disqualified someone to be in a leadership position.

You actually don't have to get very far into human history to see God's plan for marriage perverted. The first Biblical account of men taking multiple wives is recorded in Genesis 4:19 where a man named Lamech took two wives. Having multiple wives throughout history has always been a mark of nations, people groups, who lived their lives in rebellion to the God of the Bible. Sadly, some have tried to justify polygamy by pointing to men of God in the Bible like Abraham and others who had multiple wives. They are 100% wrong and there is NO WAY to justify polygamy by using the Bible.

Lets be very clear, God never permitted at any time for men to have multiple wives. When we read about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Solomon, and others taking multiple wives, we also read about the consequences of this sin in their life. Obedience to God and His Word brings blessings, our rebellion to God and His Word brings consequences! There will ALWAYS be consequences when you choose to live in rebellion to God. Even great men of God like Abraham, like Solomon, were not immune to the consequences when they chose to sin against God.

                                                                                                                                                  With love,in Christ,Kwik

[coheir]

Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament? The Bible does not specifically say why God allowed polygamy. As we speculate about God’s silence, there are a few key factors to consider. First, while there are slightly more male babies than female babies, due to women having longer lifespans, there have always been more women in the world than men. Current statistics show that approximately 50.5 percent of the world population are women. Assuming the same percentages in ancient times, and multiplied by millions of people, there would be tens of thousands more women than men. Second, warfare in ancient times was especially brutal, with an incredibly high rate of fatality. This would have resulted in an even greater percentage of women to men. Third, due to patriarchal societies, it was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to provide for herself. Women were often uneducated and untrained. Women relied on their fathers, brothers, and husbands for provision and protection. Unmarried women were often subjected to prostitution and slavery. The significant difference between the number of women and men would have left many, many women in an undesirable situation.

So, it seems that God may have allowed polygamy to protect and provide for the women who could not find a husband otherwise. A man would take multiple wives and serve as the provider and protector of all of them. While definitely not ideal, living in a polygamist household was far better than the alternatives: prostitution, slavery, or starvation. In addition to the protection/provision factor, polygamy enabled a much faster expansion of humanity, fulfilling God’s command to “be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth” (Genesis 9:7). Men are capable of impregnating multiple women in the same time period, causing humanity to grow much faster than if each man was only producing one child each year.

 

I copied this from Got Questions it seems reasonable to me, 

 

[Willa]

Most men can't undertand one woman. So wanting to multiply their problems is not normal. Mostly it is lust. Abe was told by his wife to take a concubine. Personally, I think she was tired of the old guy trying for a boy child and wanted some peace. Jacob wanted the love of his life but, surprise at sunrise! Uncle had got him drunk and slipped her weak eyed sister into the bedroom instead. So Jake was a slave for 7 more years to get the one he wanted. David may have inheritied some of his harum when he took over the throne, but he added a few through sin. Michael had been promised to him by Saul, who took her back. You would have thought he might have learned. They were told by God not to collect horses and wives. It certainly isn't the logical thing to do. So you have to chalk it up to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. tisk tisk

[OakWood]

 

Yes it is wrong. In the Old Testament, incest occurred too. Would you ask if that is wrong?

I do not know why you are asking me about incest. I asume this is a place to ask a Bible questions without being made out to be stupide which I feel you are doing by asking me such a thing.

 

 

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound that way. What I meant to say was - the more than one wife thing is not part of Jewish Law and everybody else in the OT did as they wished. They worshipped false gods anyway. So just like incest, it was not an issue. God eventually made rules against that. Until he did, it appears to be something that God overlooked.

[LadyKay]

I think I understand. Kind of like God does not like divorce but he allowed it to happen sort of.