The Error of Justifying Polygamy

Have you ever heard that the Bible supports polygamy? This belief stems from biblical misinterpretations. Yes, you will definitely find a lot of polygamy in the bible. However, we must look at the context of how and why it occurred.

Below, I list the most prominent, Old Testament, bible stories and I explain the main acts that led to their polygamy. As you read this and study their lives on your own, you will understand that sin is the true reason behind their polygamist lifestyle.

Sarai Chose Not to Believe God

Abram married his half-sister Sarai — that’s another story— but her womb was closed. God promised Abram that he would have many offspring. However, Sarai became impatient about God’s promise. She chose to believe that perhaps God’s promise would come through a different womb and thus, convinced Abram to take her handmaid. This is how Ishmael was born through his second wife and then Isaac came later through Sarai.

Jacob Was Tricked

Isaac was the son of Abraham. Yes, Sarai finally got pregnant after God blessed their names to Abraham and Sarah. So their son, Isaac grew up and married Rebeccah and they had a son named Jacob. Jacob’s mother, Rebeccah, was deceitful and she conspired to convince her son Jacob to steal the blessing from his “older,” twin brother, Esau. He stole his brother’s blessing, but here’s the kicker, Jacob already obtained it because Esau was hungry one day and told him that he could have it in exchange for food. So, because Jacob took the birthright, he had to flee and his mother Rebeccah told him to go to her family; the house of Laban.

Jacob’s uncle Laban was deceitful too and so he tricks Jacob into marrying the wrong daughter. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel because he loved her deeply, but was tricked into marrying Leah first and then he was given Rachel.

The Result

These polygamist acts were not blessings. Both families paid for their sins. For Abraham, he had to let go of his son Ishmael due to the contention. For Jacob and Rachel, their son Joseph ends up being hated by all of his half-brothers and sold away.

Joseph’s plight came because Jacob took Rachel as his second wife. Rachel hated Leah, but Leah was the rightful first wife. Remember, Leah was from the family of Laban who was deceitful and because of Jacob and his mother Rebeccah’s trick, he was then tricked by Laban.

God saw that Jacob’s first wife, Leah, was hated and so He closed Rachel’s womb. As Leah kept having boys, Rachel– tempted to bring more polygamy– offers her maid to Jacob to have children. Then, Leah offers her maid, … then Rachel, … then Leah; they were competing.

[19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, [20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,1Ambitious or envious rivalry; endeavor to equal or excel others wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, [21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ~Galatians 5:19-21 KJV

Finally, Rachel’s womb opens. Nevertheless, after twelve sons, all of Leah’s sons, and the sons of both their maids, hated Rachel’s biological son, Joseph. In the end, Joseph paid for the sins of his parents in their polygamist lifestyle. Yet, still, God had mercy on that family turning what was bad into a good result. So if you’ve ever seen Joseph King of Dreams, you understand why Jacob had so many boys.

King David Was Tempted

Next, David was married to Michal, King Saul’s daughter. However, he was on the run because Saul was trying to kill him and he comes across a godly woman named Abigail who basically prophesies to him. She was beautiful so David marries her. This wasn’t enough, he marries another woman as well. David ends up with seven wives. Well, surely the devil sees his taste for women and so David ends up being tempted to take Bathsheba who is another man’s wife. This leads David to more temptation; to commit murder. Here’s the the good news: David has a heart for God, repents, and puts away his wives and concubines yet, takes care of them. In the end, with all his wives and concubines, David dies alone without the love of any of them except a young woman who is paid to lie next to him in his old age. God is again merciful to David because of his heart-felt repentance, but it is not because of polygamy.

King Solomon Was Greedy

David’s son Solomon ends up committing his father’s sins about 100 times worse. He served the Lord faithfully, but began heaping up women until he had 700 wives and princesses and 300 concubines.

Yeh.

Not only was he living in unclean lusts and covetousness, his wives turned him from the Lord and he began serving other gods. Thus, eventually his son ended up paying for his father’s sins.

It is true that all these men are blessed and have the great, redeeming quality of faith. It is the aspect of faith that the Lord respects. Unfortunately, certain people and certain “so-called Christian” sects like to justify polygamy even though God, by example, produced one woman created from one man ab initio. I will also remind that the New Testament reveals to us that the Old Testament people, although perfect in faith, could not be made perfect—in the flesh— without us because Christ had not yet died and rose. Therefore, if a person is truly a born-again Christian, they ought to have the Holy Spirit’s conscience to know that polygamy is a sin. Nevertheless, the bible shows us through these great stories that polygamy develops through unbelief, covetousness, trickery, temptation, or greed.