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Why was it not a sin for David, Solomon and others in the Old Testament to have many wives and concubines, but today it is? Why did God permit this behavior and allow them to be Godly people, but if Men or Women act like this today it is looked at differently.

Don’t get me wrong I can only handle my ONE wife, but I am curious why nobody has addressed this glaring double standard.

John Kissinger [01/05/2016 8:51 PM]
Nobody? Do tell 🙂

Corey Forsyth [01/05/2016 9:51 PM]
Oh this is hilarious. My wife LOVES that silly Sister Wives show and recently asked the same basic question and even asked if I would consider such a thing. HAHA Of course my answer would be a definite NO! If I had more than one wife, I would go on a shooting spree or be locked up in the looney bin. Lol

Tim Renneberg [01/05/2016 10:09 PM]
Who says it wasn’t a sin? The people of God are very clearly flawed, imperfect people. Let’s not confuse what God allows with what God approves.

Wade T. Foster [01/05/2016 10:44 PM]
Tim Renneberg then why are we in the Church so unforgiving when extramarital affairs happen? David got away with it and was still a man after God’s heart.

Karen Lucas [01/05/2016 11:04 PM]
I don’t think God has an issue with it. I think it’s a cultural thing, a practical thing and that in the church we got the idea that one wife was best and this spread through the cultures we have influenced. I suspect we (the church) got the idea that one wife was best from 1 Timothy 3 when the requirements for serving the church included being the husband of only one wife. I would point out though, that in most cases, when more than one wife is mentioned in the story of a patriarch, there is typically considerable trouble and rivalry of some sort between them. Perhaps the inclusion of this part of the story is a way of showing that one wife is always favored over the others and so it is unfair and unwise to put a person through always being second best and to put a family through the turmoil of the consequences of such a reality. Personally, I’m glad we’ve morphed to one wife. I would not be a very good sister wife. I would rather be single if that were the situation. Conversely, I know a missionary who works in a country where multiple wives is still pretty normal and he really makes a big deal about why men should only have one wife and feels the Bible fully supports this belief. He preaches this to the people he ministers to. I have frequently considered Tim Renneberg’s position too, though and I see potential for validity with it also.

John Ruffle [01/06/2016 2:36 AM]
You better not preach that to women or men who are in multiple marriage relatioships. You’ll be preaching a virtual death sentence to some of the wives. I’ve taught many many Moselm women, and a number of those are 2nd and 3rd wives.

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 1:25 PM]
Wade : you made a few assumptions in the OP : 1) polygamy today is sin – where did you get that? Illegal, unwise, perhaps but where is it sin? 2) That the issue is not discussed – it is discussed. Especially in coutries where it is legal.

Michael Wilhelm [01/06/2016 1:48 PM]
Well, I have not read through all the comments and please forgive me if someone has already mentioned the two points I would like to interject in answer to the question. 1) Just because something is mentioned in the Bible does not mean the action is approved. 2) It is really difficult for two people to become one flesh. How much more difficult does it become when more than two people are involved? I think it might also be significant that Ephesians tells us that the relationship between husband and wife mirrors that of Christ and the church. Christ has only one bride. Just some thoughts.

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 1:58 PM]
There is a very devout and studious Kenyan Christian brother on my Friend list who has multiple wives

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 1:59 PM]
Michael – I don’t think the issue is : “what is the ideal?”

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 1:59 PM]
The issue is : what is sin in each circumstance?

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 2:00 PM]
I prefer not to be divorced but I am

John Conger [01/06/2016 5:11 PM]
Because we have wisdom now. He used to wink at ignorance?

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 5:13 PM]
John – that phrase seems more to pagans as opposed to Jews over idolatry

John Conger [01/06/2016 5:14 PM]
I was being funny..but apparently not

Stan Wayne [01/06/2016 5:27 PM]
No not to worry – you are funny – couldn’t see expression 😉

Jimmy Callaway [01/06/2016 9:05 PM]
MY THOUGHT. JUST SAYING. RIGHT, WRONG OR INDIFFERENT, ANYBODY KNOW’S THAT TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE NEED’S TO HAVE THEIR HEAD EXAMINED. 50 MILLION PEOPLE MAY THINK IT’S OK.. BUT TO ME IT’S ADULTERY TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE. AS I SAID JUST SAYING.

Grover Katzmarek Sr [01/06/2016 10:05 PM]
First of all is that revelation is progressive. We today know more about God than even our founding fathers did. Let alone say Abraham David or Solomon.

We today know this is wrong bit the writing of Paul and Peter. When we let the world and different cultures influence us we have thrown multitude of scripture to the side.

If we would live totally by Romans 12:1-2 I believe it would influence every area of our lives and thinking

John Conger [01/06/2016 10:29 PM]
Polygamy obviously wasn’t gods plan. Jesus-And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh

John Ruffle [01/06/2016 10:54 PM]
Where does this Americanism “just saying” come from and what is being communicated? Is it: “This is a bigoted comment but I’m laying it on anyway”? Or “I’m to lazy to think through this, so if you get mad at me, don’t worry because my defense is that I’ll disclaim any ownership of what I’ve just said.”?
2nd: is there any record of this disclaimer being used in a speech in the House of Commons? I’m tempted to close with the phrase but am not yielding!

John Conger [01/06/2016 10:59 PM]
Another good thought is what Jesus said later on in the same chapter “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” if its a sin to marry a second wife if you divorce the first without cause, why then would not be a sin to marry a second period? Obviously in my mind the fornication would be a breach of the first covenant setting the man free to remarry and establish another covenant with another woman. If no fornication occurred and he divorced her then the new marriage would be adultery. Why? Because the first covenant isn’t voided just because a judge bangs a gavel

Link Hudson [01/07/2016 3:37 AM]
I can think of one reason why a man would want to have more than one wife, and a lot of reasons why it would be a bad idea.

Link Hudson [01/07/2016 3:38 AM]
Okay maybe, 2 reasons. the second is lots of kids, but that’s a result of the first reason.

Terry Wiles [01/07/2016 7:06 AM]
Oh Link Hudson. I’m blushing:)

Stan Wayne [01/07/2016 8:48 AM]
I once used to show a documentary that I taped about African polygamy to an anthropology class I taught – at Evangel U – anyway husband of 4 wives explained wife # 1 who was his age was completely uninterested and done with sex – but he wanted to support her and her kids rather than putting her away – I thought it was more humane than divorce