What does God think about polygamy - having more than one wife or husband?
The following excerpt from an article in Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary accurately presents the history and the Bible's teaching:
"The practice of having several spouses, especially wives, at one time. Polygamy includes polygyny (marriage to more than one woman) and polyandry (marriage to more than one man). The term polygamy is more often used, however, as a synonym for polygyny, which was common throughout the ancient world.
"According to the custom of the times, Abraham took Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant of his wife Sarah, to be his wife when Sarah was unable to bear a child (Gen. 16:1-4). Abraham's son, Isaac, had only one wife; but Abraham's grandson, Jacob, took two wives (Leah and Rachel) and two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah (Gen. 29:15-30:13).
"The Bible presents monogamy as the divine ideal. The Creator made marriage as a union between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:18-24; Matt. 19:4-6; 1 Cor. 6:16)...
"After the time of Moses, polygamy continued to be practiced, especially by wealthy individuals, such as Gideon, Elkanah, Saul, and David (1 Sam. 1:2; 2 Sam. 5:13; 1 Kin. 11:3). But the most famous polygamist in the Bible was King Solomon: 'And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart' (1 Kin. 11:3). The criticism of polygamy expressed in (Deuteronomy 17:17), therefore, is not surprising: the ideal king to whom Israel's obedience can be rightly given shall not 'multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away'" (1986, "Polygamy").
Scripture shows that it was God's intention for man to be monogamous. When a group of religious leaders approached Jesus on the related subject of divorce, Jesus pointed them back to the creation (Matthew 19:4-6). God had created only one wife for Adam, and it was clearly stated that the two of them were to become one. Later, Paul specified to Timothy that Church leaders must have only one wife (1 Timothy 3:2, 12).
For more information, please read our booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension.
Aaron Booth is the Internet Manager for the United Church of God. Aaron has worked in the Internet industry for the past 20+ years and has enjoyed seeing the Internet grow into a powerful and exciting tool of connecting people around the world.
Aaron graduated from Ambassador University with an Associates Degree in Business Administration then continued his education at his hometown university - Purdue University. It was there while pursuing his degree in Leisure Studies/Recreation Management that he started working with the web and multi-media development tools. After graduation he continued working at Purdue and then moved to Indianapolis and worked with various web/multi-media companies. After the downturn of the Internet industry in the early 2000's, Aaron relocated to the Cincinnati area and began working for the United Church of God in his current position.
Aaron is passionate about finding and connecting content to helps other succeed in life.
