If men were intent on objectifying and abusing women, God determined to put a few safety measures in place. The Pharisees asked Jesus why the marital union of one man to a single woman mattered to Jesus when God appeared to condone polygamy and divorce. Polygamy was considered a better, though imperfect, option. The New Testament portrays marriage between a husband and a wife, and between the church and Christ.
By the time of Christ, Israelite men no longer took several wives. When Paul instructed Christians regarding marriage, he always referred to monogamy. Many Romans had multiple ex -wives. Christians were told they must pick up their respective crosses in order to follow Christ Luke A polygamous life is one of fulfilling desires, nourishing sin, and self-love.
Paul refers to one man, one woman; he takes us back to Genesis A man marries one woman and they become one flesh. The church is a body of many members, but marriage is a single body formed from two people. There are examples of historical and contemporary polygamy within many cultures and religions. Even today, there is no Hindu law against these customs. According to their beliefs , you need three wives to enter heaven. Only a few years ago, several people were convicted of crimes , including exploiting and sexually abusing young girls as part of their cult.
The Bible never relents on the picture of marital customs, but the New Testament demonstrates a new possibility for women, one which was promoted by the New Church: singleness for women.
Mary and Martha remained unmarried. She does not remarry as far as we know. Each woman above is important enough to be named, and not as wives. Had God always been in favor of monogamy so that they were now returning to his original wishes? It was the purpose of these commands, rather than the commands themselves, that was important. When there were too few men due to warfare, this purpose was accomplished by allowing polygamy to ensure male heirs. In more stable times, polygamy resulted in many men remaining single because wealthy men could have many wives.
Despite their official condemnation of polygamy, many respectable Romans had multiple marriages because divorce was easily obtained and mistresses were openly accepted. In modern Western societies, various surveys have revealed that 13 percent of women and 20 percent of men commit adultery—and this is likely to be underreported by those who are questioned. Jesus criticized polygamy as a warped version of the lifelong committed relationship of a one-plus-one marriage. Our society recognizes that this is a very special relationship, and we strive toward it, but in many cases, we fail.
So much time and money are often spent on the wedding and an almost equal amount on a subsequent divorce, but often we spend little time, care, and attention on the marriage itself. You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. Create an account or log in to get started. Lexham Press is an innovative Christian publishing house creating thoughtful Bible study materials, scholarly works, and pastoral resources.
Biblical Studies. Lexham Press 9 min read 6 months ago. Leave a comment. Tagged as lexham press old testament polygamy top Written by.
Related articles. The alternative to marriage for many of these women was slavery or prostitution. Polygamy was considered a better, though imperfect, option to the alternative. Parr goes on to describe other common reasons men married more than one woman in that culture, included continuing their family lineage if their first wife was barren and forming alliances between nations — as was the case for King David and Solomon.
Almost every story involving polygamy in the Bible resulted in strained relationships and difficult marriages. Another example Parr points out, which illustrates the problems caused by polygamy is in the first chapter of 1 Samuel. A man named Elkanah had two wives: Hannah, who was barren, and Peninnah, who had children. While the Old Testament never expressly condemns polygamy, God does make His defining standard for marriage known from the very beginning of the Bible.
Instead, they tell the story as it happened and allow the readers to draw their own conclusions.
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