Polygamy

It is not good for the man to be alone. I will create a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18).

These past few years, there has been a lot on TV about polygamy. Polygamy is the practice of one man having several wives, all at the same time.

In the United States, polygamy is practiced in secret, because having multiple wives is against the law. Some people have been polygamists without knowing it—they are victims of a man who gets married in several different states and keeps each marriage secret from his other wives. But others go into multiple marriages with their eyes wide open. Recently there was even a cable TV series that dramatized such a family arrangement.

Most people who practice polygamy, do so on religious grounds—they believe that God approves this style of marriage. They will point to examples from the Old Testament, especially men like King David and King Solomon. But how does God really feel about such marriages?

When God created Adam, He said it is not good for the man to be alone. But God did not create Ellen and Edie and Evelyn, He only created Eve. By God’s original plan, one woman was more than enough to make a good marriage partner. Consider also the life of Abraham. When Sarah could not get pregnant, she urged her husband to have a child by their servant Hagar. Yet this situation resulted in so much domestic strife that Abraham eventually had to send Hagar and her son away, and their descendants became enemies of the Israelites. One man with two bed partners did not work out well at all.

God sometimes permits things to go on that He does not approve of. For example, He gave Moses rules by which Israelites could divorce each other, even though God hates divorce. When asked about this, Jesus said Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning (Matthew 19:8). God did bless David and Solomon during their lives, but it was in spite of their polygamous ways. A careful reading of Scripture shows that neither man enjoyed a peaceful, God-pleasing home life. God’s plan for marriage has always been one man, one woman. Anything else opposes God’s design for the family.