WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT POLYGAMY
Polygamy, a phenomenon whereby a man marries more than one wife. This phenomenon begun in the bible days. It has survived through the years though its rate may have diminished drastically. It is relatively prevalent in Africa than in other continents of the world. The first instance of polygamy recorded in the bible is in Genesis 4:19 “And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah”. Several instance of polygamy existed apart from that of Lamech and these include Abraham, Jacob, Solomon, David and others.
Though polygamy was not accepted by God as evidenced in Genesis 2:24 (“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh”), it appeared as a social safety net to protect women. It is estimated that the world’s population during the bible days had more women than men. Wars were prevalent in those days and men were always trained for war. As more men died in those wars, the population of women even grew larger therefore it was imperative for a man to marry several women so as to take care of these women, protect them and also have intimacy with these women. So God may have pardon man for engaging in polygamy though that was not the ideal situation for God.
How does the New Testament view polygamy today? 1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach”. Titus 1:6 “If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. The above two scriptures back monogamy therefore one can infer that polygamy is not ideal. These two scriptures above buttresses Genesis 2:24.
Jesus Christ also made a reference to monogamy in Matthew 19:4. It states “And he answered and said unto them, have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 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?”. This confirmation of scripture by the master sets the record straight about the issue of Christianity and polygamy. Polygamy may be prone to several challenges, namely, relatively huge physical and financial burden on the husband; huge management responsibility to undertake; the likelihood of the husband not being truthful to all the spouses in an attempt to please each of the spouses; likelihood of enmity between the children of several women etc.
Polygamy, though, rampant in the Old Testament was not the original idea of God and therefore it is recommended not be practiced in modern day Christianity. However, if one is already polygamous before becoming a Christian, divorce of some of the spouses should NOT be encouraged. Christianity is not interested in breaking polygamous marriages.
Background frame of image courtesy of Supertrooper/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
