A Study of Polygamy

by Dudley Ross Spears
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 31, 1989

Polygamy is probably the least important issue Christians face today. Yet, issues associated with it are becoming more and more prominent as they relate to the general issue of marriage. Few, if any, would dare to justify a spouse with multiple mates. Even the officials of Mormonism now oppose a husband being married to several mates simultaneously. But, in a few Muslim countries in the world, a man is allowed to have up to four wives legally, and certain portions of India allow similar marital conditions.

Questions will invariably arise, not over the issue of polygamy, but over what to do in the case a polygamist is converted. Can a polygamist remain with multiple wives after conversion? If he has four wives, which will he remain with after baptism? In some Muslim countries, a man may simultaneously marry four daughters of the same parents. At conversion, which of the four does he remain with, if any? Those who have wrestled with the knotty situations in divorces and remarriages have worked on similar problems. How is repentance applied to these kinds of circumstances? Some of these questions will hopefully, at least partially, be answered as we delve into the basic principles regarding polygamy.

What Is Polygamy?

Polygamy, or polygyny, is the practice of having more than one wife at one time. It usually occurs in cultures where women occupy a low station in human society. In the extremely rare instances of a woman having multiple husbands, the term is polyandry. Not only are there scattered examples of it today, but there are numerous references to the practice in the Old Testament. Jacob, Abraham, David, and Solomon had more than one wife.

Even in the Old Testament, an apparent distinction was made between adultery, punishable by death, and numerous wives. (1) The practice seems more in the class of multiple divorces, which God tolerated but never really approved (Deuteronomy 24:1-13). Jesus responded to the controversy among the Jews over this very issue by saying, "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so" (Matthew 19:7). You might also notice that in each instance in the Old Testament where having multiple wives is regulated, it is always put on a conditional basis. (2)

Why Polygamy Is Wrong

God’s Revelation describes a lawful marriage as consisting of one male and one female who become "one flesh" (Genesis 2:18, 24). This excludes two men, two women, one man and several women, and one woman and several men. It obviously excludes infants and children. It would be as impossible to set the age for acceptable marriage as it is to set the precise age for personal accountability. Still, one thing is very certain: the Lord excludes polygamy. Christ flatly affirmed that monogamy is the only right form of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6). According to the Lord, it always has been that way and always will be that way. If a thing is right from the beginning and Jesus said so, no one can justifiably question it.

There is no direct condemnation of polygamy in the Old Testament. However, the Scriptures describe the bad consequences of polygyny. Consider the case of Jacob (Genesis 35:22; 37:18-28), of David (II Samuel 13:1-29; 15:1ff.), and especially of Solomon (I Kings 11:1-12). Then there was Abraham's marriage with Sarah's maid Hagar, which Sarah herself arranged (Genesis 16:1-3). This could be regarded as plain sexual misconduct, even though it was instigated by the desire to obtain the promise God made of an heir through whom the blessings to mankind would be channeled. Also, Sarah acted in keeping with the customs of the time. (3)

The scriptural record forces all honest students of the Word to realize that every case of polygamy or even concubinage is really a failure to follow God's original model and plan. The first reference to polygamy in Genesis is found in the case of Lamech, son of Methushael. In addition to his cruelty and murder, he boasted of his expertise (?) to his two wives, Adah and Zillah (Genesis 4:23-24). The next mention of plural marriage comes in the time of Abraham, if indeed such is polygamy.

Polygamy could not have been pleasing to God. Gleason Archer writes, "From the time of the return from Babylonian exile (ca. 537 B.C.) onward, there is no reference to polygamy among God's people to be found in any of the post-Exilic books of the Old Testament. By Christ's time, monogamy was the rule among the Greeks and the Romans as well as among the Jews, and Christ's affirmation of the 'one flesh' principle of marriage (which makes sense only in a context of monogamy) found ready acceptance among His countrymen (Matthew 19:5-6)." (4)

From the evidence, neither the Old nor the New Testaments approve multiple mates in a God-ordained marriage relationship. If God made one flesh from only two, a male and a female, and Jesus pronounced this as the one right marriage, then anything deviating from that is wrong. Since Jesus is married to but one bride, His church (Ephesians 5:23-25), and since He is our example (I Peter 2:21), those who follow Christ condemn polygamy.

However, the questions posed at the article's outset have not been answered. Is there a definitive and specific answer to what one must do who has more than one wife and comes to be converted to Christ? To that question, the answer must be "no." However, this does not justify one remaining in any relationship that can and must be changed prior to acceptance before God Almighty. It matters not if the problem is polygamy, second or third, etc., unacceptable marriages, or membership in an illegitimate spiritual relationship (denominationalism, etc.). The individual who leaves must do so forthrightly in repentance from the heart.

Repentance, that change of heart and mind that leads to a changed life, is never described as an easy command to obey. But neither is it an impossible command to obey. It seems quite clear that if the polygamist cannot be converted and remain in a sinful relationship with several wives at the same time, neither can one who lives in an adulterous or illegitimate marriage.

The answer to problems relative to these complex situations is reached by deduction. Given the facts, as they are revealed in the inspired document, holding a respectful and fearful attitude toward the Scriptures, one must then deduce that those who would come to Christ on His terms and be truly converted must certainly sever any unholy alliance, regardless of its nature. Evidently, one of the very reasons we have the blessed privilege of praying for strength is to stand up to our obligations when called on to do so.

References

1. Polygamy was not adultery. Adultery was punished by death. It violated the seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10).
2. Exodus 21:10 (See the information from Norman Geisler.)
3. His wrong consisted of his lack of enduring trust in the divine promise. Scripture, therefore, depicts the evils that resulted also from this union (Genesis 16:4-16), while Paul rebukes it even as he censures workrighteousness (Galatians 4:21-31). [J. Theodore Mueller, Baker's Dictionary of Theology]
4. Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, pages 121-122.

Additional Notes:

The New Testament teaching on marriage presupposed monogamy, and Christ conceded that Moses had allowed divorce "because of the hardness of your hearts" (Matthew 19:8). He emphasized that such was not the original intent of marriage. Divorce would have been rare in Christ's time because the cost to the husband of returning his wife's dowry and arranging for financial support for her and the children of the marriage would have been prohibitive under normal conditions. While polygamy was tolerated among the rich and powerful, it was recognized as a violation of that covenantal fidelity that God demanded of Israel, His bride at the highest level (cf. Hosea 2:2), and that Christ also demanded of the Church (cf. II Corinthians 11:2). This latter consideration is of fundamental importance since God has spoken His final word in His Son, and now demands repentance, obedience, and unswerving fidelity from His people. [R.K. Harrison, The New International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Fully Revised, Volume three, pages 901-902].

"Genesis 2:23-24, as Christ pointed out, teaches monogamy as God's will for man. After Adam was presented with his wife, Eve, the Bible records, "The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.' ... For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" (NASB). Now, there is no possibility of a husband constituting unity with one wife if he also has another wife or several others. This is made very clear by the analogy in Ephesians 5:23: "For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body" (NASB). The implication here is that there is but one true church and that it stands in a relationship to the heavenly Bridegroom like that of the wife toward her husband. Christ is not the Head of many different churches; He has but a single mystical body—not several different bodies—and therefore, His one and only church is viewed as the antitype of monogamous marriage. Polygamy is absolutely excluded." [Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, page 122].

Here is Norman Geisler's excellent summary:

"There is ample evidence, even within the Old Testament, that polygamy was not God's ideal for man. That monogamy was His ideal for man is obvious from several perspectives.

1. God made only one wife for Adam, thus setting the ideal precedent for the race.
2. Polygamy is first mentioned as part of the wicked Cainite civilization (Genesis 4:23).
3. God clearly forbade the kings of Israel (leaders were the persons who became polygamists) saying, "And he shall not multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away again" (Deuteronomy 17:17).
4. The saints who became polygamists paid for their sins. I Kings 11:1,3 says, "Now King Solomon loved many foreign women ... and his wives turned away his heart."
5. ...
6. Polygamy is usually situated in the context of sin in the Old Testament. Abraham's marriage of Hagar was clearly a carnal act of unbelief (Genesis 16:1f). David was not at a spiritual peak when he added Abigail and Ahinoam as his wives (I Samuel 25:42-43), nor was Jacob when he married Leah and Rachael (Genesis 29:23,28).
7. The polygamous relationship was less than ideal. It was one of jealousy among the wives. Jacob loved Rachael more than Leah (Genesis 29:31). Elkanah's one wife was considered a "rival" or adversary by the other, who "used to provoke her sorely, to irritate her..." (I Samuel 1:6).
8. When polygamy is referred to, the conditional, not the imperative, is used. "If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights" (Exodus 21:10). Polygamy is not the moral ideal, but the polygamist must be moral." [Norman Geisler, Ethics: Alternatives and Issues, Zondervan, pages 204-205].