“So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God
has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6).
The Pharisees once asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” (Matthew 19:3). I believe Christ’s response to
their question illustrates a principle that gives light on the question about
polygamy. Jesus told the Pharisees, “Moses, because of the hardness of
your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it
was not so” (v. 8).
The same can be said about polygamy. It was never part of God’s perfect
plan for a man to have more than one wife. When we look to the creation of
Adam in Eden, God did not create an Eve and a Sally for him. There was
just one wife.
While you can find some laws and provisions for multiple wives in
Scripture, just look at all the grief and heartache such homes created. The
stories of Abraham and Hagar, of Jacob with Leah and Rachel, of David
and Bathsheba, and the sad commentary of Solomon and his multiple wives
only point to the imperfect homes and the many problems that plagued
them.
There are scenarios in Scripture that are less than ideal among God’s people. Israel wanted a king during the time of Samuel. Because of their
stubborn insistence, God reluctantly gave them a king. Paul gives us
another angle on how God deals with those who do not always know the
ideal. He says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now
commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Polygamy goes against the oneness that God first set up in the marriage
of Adam and Eve. A lasting marriage is one in which both partners “forsake
all others.” Even though we find plural marriages and slavery as a reality
during the time of the Patriarchs, they were clearly not the divine ideal. It is
“two who become one flesh” that provides the foundation for true intimacy.
It also reflects the relationship between Christ and His church.
Dear Lord, help me to commit myself completely to your perfect will. I will forsake anything that comes between us. I give myself wholly to you in every area of my life.
For Further Study: Genesis 2:20–24; Ezra 10:3; 1 Kings 11:4
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