My Thoughts on Old Testament Polygamy
I remember one of the greatest areas I deal with my life was lust. I remembered as a teenager that it shocked me to learn that certain heroes of the Old Testament were polygamists. Jacob had four wives, Elkanah had two wives, David had eight wives, Solomon had 1,000 women in total and the rest went on. It left me wondering why the New Testament affirms one man to one woman while the Old Testament somehow "allowed" polygamy to happen. I even wished I was born in the Old Testament so I could have more than one wife - never mind that the stories of the Bible showed how polygamy did more than good to those who practiced it.
I was thinking of the late Vernon McGee's "Thru the Bible Commentary" which says that just because the Bible records it doesn't mean it's approved of. I remembered how a Bible teacher mentioned how polygamy wrecked the home of Jacob, caused David's family to spiral into chaos, and caused Solomon to be lead astray. Yet, part of me wished I were born in the Old Testament because polygamy was still legal at that time. But remember, what is legal in man's book is not necessarily legal in God's book!
I thought about the time I was mentioned, "Do you think David and Solomon enjoyed having all those girls? Do you think those women really loved Solomon?" Maybe one of the best reasons why I disagree with teenage courtship is because the teenage mind is indecisive. I had multiple admirations at once (as a teenager) which wasn't good. I thought about how David couldn't enjoy having all those girls. He could have stopped with Abigail but no - he still had to get back ungodly Michal and he had to add more women was a problem. Abigail was certainly the most promising wife yet he made a mistake by still taking more women. David even married Gentile women who were all unbelievers. Absalom's mother Maacah was the daughter of the King of Talmai of that time. Solomon had a beautiful love story with a shepherd girl yet he ended up wrecking it up as revealed in later chapters of the Song of Solomon. Solomon had Maacah an Ammonitess who would later prove to be disastrous to his son Rehoboam.
It's sad really how the story of Abraham's and Jacob's polygamy was recorded yet the Jews never learned from it. God already warned in Deuteronomy 17:17 that rulers were not to multiply wives. The consequences of polygamy were not pretty. You can think of how Jacob having a total of four wives was totally a disaster. He married Leah and had to perform another seven years for Rachel. Rachel who was impatient handed over her maiden Bilhah then Leah handed over her maiden Zilpah. You can imagine the chaos of Jacob's twelve sons. Do you remember how Joseph was eventually sold by his half-brothers? That should've served as a warning of the chaos of polygamous households.
The model of monogamy was taken in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. God did not make Adam, Eve and more Eves. Instead, God only made Eve for Adam. I can't imagine if God decided to take more ribs from Adam to give him more wives! Islam also teaches that Adam supposedly had a first wife named Lilith. Secret Mormon documents say that Adam had other wives. The first perversion from monogamy to polygamy happens to Enoch the Cainite. Why some heroes in the Old Testament still engaged in polygamy or why it was the norm is still beyond me. Just because they did it doesn't make it right. Just think did David's murder of Uriah make it justifiable to do so and steal another man's wife?
The model of monogamy was taken in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. God did not make Adam, Eve and more Eves. Instead, God only made Eve for Adam. I can't imagine if God decided to take more ribs from Adam to give him more wives! Islam also teaches that Adam supposedly had a first wife named Lilith. Secret Mormon documents say that Adam had other wives. The first perversion from monogamy to polygamy happens to Enoch the Cainite. Why some heroes in the Old Testament still engaged in polygamy or why it was the norm is still beyond me. Just because they did it doesn't make it right. Just think did David's murder of Uriah make it justifiable to do so and steal another man's wife?
Jacob himself could have taken notes of what happened to his paternal grandfather Abraham. Do you remember when Sarah consented to Abraham to have a second wife? The consequences were really not nice. Hagar the Egyptian handmaid soon despised the first wife who supposedly had more power over her. Later, Abraham had to send Ishmael out because the latter was a child not born of promise. Yet, this incident never taught Jacob's descendants to avoid polygamy at all costs. Jacob was probably regretting having four wives when he saw that his sons had a hard time getting along. Also, if Rachel didn't give her handmaid then Joseph would haven't had to deal with jealous half-brothers. Yet, God allowed it all to happen for a reason.
How can one be certain Solomon never enjoyed his 999 other women? The only love song he wrote was in the book The Song of Solomon. Some interpreters see it as a marriage ceremony or the early stage of Solomon's career. I, however, seem to have a different interpretation. Chapter 3 seems to indicate that Solomon started to neglect his first love. The Shulammite starts looking and longing for Solomon. In Song of Solomon 6:8, we read that there are 60 queens, 80 concubines, and virgins without number. The ending of the Song of Solomon actually has him realizing that he couldn't enjoy all his women and went back to his first love. He neglected her many times The final chapter has the theme of reconciliation between them. By the time Solomon realizes this - the curse has already fallen upon his kingdom leading to its centuries-long division between the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah with one tribe Benjamin).
How can one be certain Solomon never enjoyed his 999 other women? The only love song he wrote was in the book The Song of Solomon. Some interpreters see it as a marriage ceremony or the early stage of Solomon's career. I, however, seem to have a different interpretation. Chapter 3 seems to indicate that Solomon started to neglect his first love. The Shulammite starts looking and longing for Solomon. In Song of Solomon 6:8, we read that there are 60 queens, 80 concubines, and virgins without number. The ending of the Song of Solomon actually has him realizing that he couldn't enjoy all his women and went back to his first love. He neglected her many times The final chapter has the theme of reconciliation between them. By the time Solomon realizes this - the curse has already fallen upon his kingdom leading to its centuries-long division between the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah with one tribe Benjamin).
The idea of having many women can be pleasurable at first. However, the pleasures of sin are but for a season. Many times, marriages happen for status rather than for love. I still can't imagine how old King Xerxes was when he replaced Vashti with Esther. Some suggest that Xerxes was probably 40 and Esther was young enough to be his daughter. I can't imagine Mordecai screaming in protest as Esther was brought to the court. I don't think a godly man like Mordecai would have allowed his cousin (whom he raised as a daughter) to be taken by such an ungodly king. Xerxes was a known womanizer who couldn't make wise decisions. He nearly signed the death of an entire race because he had such a childish vizier in Haman. I would dare say that polygamy had practically also made kings unwise such as Xerxes.
The evidence of polygamy's pleasures are fleeting can be seen with Solomon. Solomon may have had enjoyed much younger women than he is later in life but did it even work? His next son in the line was Rehoboam who was born of Naamah the Ammonitess. I can imagine Solomon probably to so drunk hosting orgies with his wives that he neglected God. Just remember that these wives were pagan wives. I can imagine how temple prostitutes were brought when Solomon tolerated the worship of their gods in his territory. Marrying an unbeliever as an act of evangelism is stupid. Solomon would have learned it the hard way that you don't do God's law by breaking it. If God says only one wife and never marry an unbeliever - he should've kept it. He should've learned from the chaos of his half-brothers to avoid his father's mistake. Instead, he ended up doing much worse.
When God says something - it's for your own good. God's laws for sexual purity is there to keep you safe. Today, many people suffer from sexually transmitted diseases (STD) because of sexual immorality. I can imagine Solomon may have contracted a form of STD which led him to write his repentance. I feel like Proverbs 5:11 is probably God speaking to Solomon. If so, he should've heeded God's advice in Proverbs. Unfortunately, he was breaking them with his plural marriages which he would later repent of. Thank God that He never intended people to have many wives because He knew of the consequence of it!