Why Did God Allow Some Men to Have Multiple Wives in the Old Testament?

Why did God allow some men in the Old Testament to have multiple wives? Did He approve of their polygamy? How should Christians interpret these stories in Scripture? Learn more in today's Little Lesson.

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[iankirk]

My parents were married 62 years. Born in England and migrated to Australia when I was 4 years old. For medical reasons my mother could only have one child and that was me. My Father was 4 years older than my Mother. They were so happy together and inseparable. My Mother died suddenly aged 85 after she had gone to the bathroom and had sat down in her recliner chair. Dad was sitting in another chair and hadn't even noticed that she had died. Dad who was always so jovial with everyone had become solemn and withdrawn and he missed Mum dearly. He would kiss her photo every night before retiring to bed. He just wanted to be where she was, to be reunited again with her. 4 months after her death Dad died, God had granted his wish. Now that is pure love between a husband and wife! That kind of a marriage is God's recipe for fulfillment and happiness.

[paulajohnson]

When I ask God a question the answer pops up on my You tube page with one of your little lessons. I'm truly blessed by God. thank you David.

[ChristRegeneration]

I think it’s pretty clear to say God had no problem with it.

[kimhammond]

God never condemned it. He regulated it. By the way, it was never a ' sin' that God overlooked.

[csdr]

You did not answer the question. Why did God allow some men to have multiple wives in the OT? David is said to be cut in God's heart and in the Book of Hebrews Gideon is considered as one of the heroes of faith . Yet these two had many wives (more than four). Judges 8:30 & 2 Samuel 12: 8-12.

The sin of Solomon is to marry wives from idolatrous nations which the Lord has forbidden the Israelites to intermarry since they will turn their hearts to their gods. The Lord did not forbid Solomon or the Israelites to marry more than one wives if they come from the tribes of Israel - 1 Kings 11 1-4.

[trevino]

I like your video but I disagree with your approach on this one. You used today’s mental thinking and values to define and discredit polygamy which does not apply during the church period, Jews still practice polygamy while Roman law prohibited it. In the Old Testament period polygamy was practiced for various reasons such as 1.There were more females than males.
2.There was a desire to increase the wealth of the household.
3.A large number of children was needed to work the fields or with the herds.
4.Many females died in childbirth.
5.In nomadic communities it was important for every female to be attached to a household.

As to David and Solomon, I am more then sure their polygamy was politically related and not because he fell in love 8 to 700 times. In addition, it is documented that many Mormon families have more than one wife and they live in harmony with one another. Not to say that it’s legal or correct in today’s setting but at the same time, it’s not biblically condemned. Disunity, and jealousy is not the curse of polygamy because that is also experienced in monogamists marriages.

I still like your videos although this one was way off course. I think it could have been developed much better.

[ea]

If god didn’t want men to have multiples wives why is their guidelines in the Bible on how to treat your multiple wives?

[abrokenlinelbc]

“Punishment is built into many sins.” That’s powerful

[VicGeorgeK]

Jacob married Laban's two daughters, and they were not happy about having to share a husband with each other.

[masterbrown]

Those Arguments are suppositions and if we really dig into the historical, cultural and systems of marriage we will see that there was a reason and it qualified for what they did. If you look at the list of Sexual Sins listed in Leviticus you will see that no where was Polygamy mentioned. It had NO punishment attached to Polygamy but there was a way in which it was to be practiced and it wasnt based on selfishness or depriving another man from a wife.

[freegender]

Please show the commandant where God bands multiple. Instead of giving us 20-minutes of your human interpretation and putting words in the Lourdes mouth

[bogdawson]

I personally wonder how all these people who call Moses or David or all the other bible heroes stupid, when they stand before them in heaven. When your life is shown next to theirs. The vanity of some people.

[kpec]

No disrespect but it's absurd to say polygamy is bad, when it wasn't bad for the patriarchs.

[exaucemayunga]

THE SCRIPTURES NEVER SAY. That should be the end.

[missmaria]

God never say men can have more women, thats bs, lets be honest
its a MAN who said and wanted to have more women in order to show and have more power, and then says “god allows MEN to have many wives”

[trumenfreight]

Rom 5 v 13 is very clear we know sin by the LAW. 1 John 3v4 is clear as well sin is the transgression of the LAW. You sir like all others who who oppose biblical marriage which includes polygyny do not ever quote a LAW that states "you shall not lie with another woman as you do with your wife" or "You shall not add a wife to the wife you have" or "You shall only have one wife" or "you shall not covet your neighbour's husband" or "You shall covet a virgin if you are married to a wife". You also never quote a scripture that calls the act reprobate, sinful, wicked, an abomination, defiling. The real reason why you never quote these commandments is because there are no commandments remotely resembling these. Yahuwah issued commands against homosexuality, bestiality, incest, sleeping with another man's wife but never against having more than one wife. The best you can do in your video is start of by appealing, not to scripture, but general consensus by saying "i think we can also say generally it was not god's will". Homosexuality, theft, lying, murder all these were not God's perfect will and he expressed this point in the form of commandments against these acts. What i am saying sir is that Yahuwah's will is expressed clearly in his law. If Yahuwah wills for a thing to not be done he will give a commandment to that effect. Therefore what you just did in claiming that polygyny is against Yahuwah's will even thought he did not say that is eisegesis. As a man trying his best to be a good exegete you should not begin with an idea and then wrap scripture around it. That is how heresies and traditions of man are born. If there is no LAW against polygyny then a man who marries 2 women has not been disobedient. INSTRUCTION precedes disobedience. If they is no instruction to marry ONLY one then there can be no evil in the polygynist. Secondly your treatment of Solomon and his sin is entirely of your own fabrication. You dealt with two scriptures 2 Kings 11 and Deut 17 but you did not demonstrate that you understood either of those texts. Firstly 2 Kings does not qoute Deut 17v17 as the law that Solomon broke. The law that the author of 2 Kings accuses Solomon of breaking is Deut 7v3-4. Deut 7 NOT deut 17 is quoted in 2 Kings 11. 2 Kings is abundantly clear to the exegete, it is the heathen beliefs of Solomon's wives not their number that turned him away. The accusation that Solomon broke Deut 17 is entirely unbiblical and based on on you desire to rebuke solomon for polygyny. Duet 17v17 which is not quoted in the bible as a commandment that Solomon broke does not say that a king should not have more that one wife. Look closely at the entire text. Neither the numbers 1 or 2 are present only the word multiply, which could mean anything. And that is ok because that verse deut 17v17 is not saying that any number is better than another number. What the verse is saying is that a king must be careful with the worldly goods he acquires. The sufficiency of his wealth which includes silver, gold and horses must not cause him to forget that it is Yahuwah that gave him those things. The verse also says a king must not multiply horses, silver and gold just the same as he should not multiply wives. Does this mean that he must only have one horse in his military, for a war financed by one gold coin and one silver coin. Interpreting the word multiply in Deut 17 to mean only one would be ridiculous when it comes to the horses the silver and the gold. If we are to be consistent we must also conclude that having only one wife is a ridiculous interpretation of Deut 17v17. As for the golden rule. You have greatly misapplied it. It does not mean everyone gets treated the same. Your wife gets impregnated by you, have you ever been impregnated by her. Slaves obey their masters but masters do not obey their slaves. Parents must beat their children but children who beat their parents must be killed. Christ is not undoing the distinctions that exist between humans. Christ wants husbands and wives to both be faithful in their covenant. But the contract of marriage demands of the man that he protect and provide for the woman he owns. The same contract has different roles for the woman who is owned. Since the man is her master and no one can have two masters it is the role of the woman not give the the rights of her master has to another. Therefore no extra husbands. This is expessed in the law of Moses that prohibits a man from lying with his neighbour's wife but does not prohibit a woman from lying with her neighbour's master. Cant wait to discuss this further with you.

[waneframe]

God never call any of the men in the Bible that had multiple wives stupid for having multiple wives.
1. Have he considered that God said be fruitful and multiplie.
(1 man 100 woman can Repopulate an island) (1 woman 100 men = extinction)
2. God never condemned the practice. The only scripture that came close was "a bishop should have one wife". Why only a Bishop?
3. Have you ever considered that to be a sister wife was not degrading but a benefit. Not all men could afford to have multiple wifes. The men who had multiple wives had to be prepared to take care of them.
4. Jesus even spoke of the comming of bridegroom which had 10 brides going to meet 1 groom. Yes 5 wise 5 foolish but just 1 groom? If in the natural this practice was against God's will why the Parallel?

[JudahsRedEyeLion]

I think that Solomon had all those wives so that he could tell us that it's all vanity.

[JonuhOfficial]

God is too Gracious 🥹 I can’t even not get mad reading the Old Testament 😭 praise God for His mercy🙏🏽❤️

[bigtree]

Having many wives is a sin. So God didn't allow polygamy. Why would God allow sin?