Polygamy and Adultery in the Bible

[locabouthair]

I was talking to a friend of mine and he was trying to justify that man was not designed to be with just one woman. And he mentioned that Abraham and Jacob had many wives and Jesus never said anything was wrong with this. But one of the ten commandments is, "thou shalt not commit adultery". so now i am confused what does the Bible say about this and how did God feel about polygamy? I know the Bible says divorce is justified if there is infidelity. Any scriptures would be appreciated thanx.

 

[Sweet C]

Lets refer to the beginning of the Bible, which is Genesis with Adam and Eve. If your friend is supposing that man was not designed to be with one woman, then ask him why did God not give Adam more than one wife in the beginning? In Gen 2:24 it states "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." , not wives. The more than one wife scenario was started by a man named Lamech (Gen 4:19), who was from Cain's line, and others followed suit with concubines, etc.

Just b/c people did have more than one wife, doesn't mean that God condoned it. If you examine situations where people had more than one wife, it was always extra drama involved that could have easily been avoided. Jesus addressed this issue with the divorce question asked by the Pharisees in Mark 4 by pointing to the beginning where marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and that Moses instituted divorce because of the hardness of hearts, not God. Paul backs this up by stating that each man have his own wife, and each wife have her own husband in 1 Cor 7:2.

 

[locabouthair]

thanx for the response

 

[shunemite]

I truly agree with Sweet C about people of God in the Bible making mistakes that were not God like. May I also add the story of Abraham and Sarah, who were meant to have a baby at 90 years of age. The Lord had promised them a child, but Sarah got impatient for a pregnancy so she convinced her husband to take Hagar as a wife. It caused strife between the 2 wives and the descendant born of Hagar (Ishmael) is at war with Israel to this very day.

 

[cocoberry10]

Lets refer to the beginning of the Bible, which is Genesis with Adam and Eve. If your friend is supposing that man was not designed to be with one woman, then ask him why did God not give Adam more than one wife in the beginning? In Gen 2:24 it states "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." , not wives. The more than one wife scenario was started by a man named Lamech (Gen 4:19), who was from Cain's line, and others followed suit with concubines, etc.

Just b/c people did have more than one wife, doesn't mean that God condoned it. If you examine situations where people had more than one wife, it was always extra drama involved that could have easily been avoided. Jesus addressed this issue with the divorce question asked by the Pharisees in Mark 4 by pointing to the beginning where marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and that Moses instituted divorce because of the hardness of hearts, not God. Paul backs this up by stating that each man have his own wife, and each wife have her own husband in 1 Cor 7:2.

Cosign! Also, in Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus talks about adultery. He says:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

In the same chapter (Matthew 5), Jesus then addresses divorce, saying "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

In John chapter 8, Jesus addresses adultery again. It says "But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.

Many people believe that he was writing the names of the adulterers accusing the adulteress, when he bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

Sorry for the length ladies!

 

[Bublnbrnsuga]

Lets refer to the beginning of the Bible, which is Genesis with Adam and Eve. If your friend is supposing that man was not designed to be with one woman, then ask him why did God not give Adam more than one wife in the beginning? In Gen 2:24 it states "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." , not wives. The more than one wife scenario was started by a man named Lamech (Gen 4:19), who was from Cain's line, and others followed suit with concubines, etc.

Just b/c people did have more than one wife, doesn't mean that God condoned it. If you examine situations where people had more than one wife, it was always extra drama involved that could have easily been avoided. Jesus addressed this issue with the divorce question asked by the Pharisees in Mark 4 by pointing to the beginning where marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and that Moses instituted divorce because of the hardness of hearts, not God. Paul backs this up by stating that each man have his own wife, and each wife have her own husband in 1 Cor 7:2.

Yup, this is the truth, Ruth,but God is so amazing- He still choose to use many of the people in the Bible who did wrong to carry out His will. He does the same today. He looks beyond our faults (not that we won't pay for them),but if He has a plan for us, it is still carried out