Should A Man Have More Than One Wife?
by Ed Crookshank
Polygamy is a common practice in
What is God’s attitude toward
polygamy? God is the one who brought
marriage into the world. He made the
first man, Adam (Genesis
Man in his different cultures has brought many ideas about marriage into the world. Some of man’s ideas agree with God’s plan. Some of man’s ideas do NOT agree with God’s plan. This is true with polygamy. Polygamy is a “man-made” idea. It is NOT in agreement with God’s plan for marriage. Anything that does not agree with what God has done or said is sin. God’s plan is one man and woman (wife) for life (Genesis 2).
There are many examples of polygamy
in the Bible. The first person to be a
polygamist was Lamech (Genesis
Abraham was also a polygamist (Genesis 16:1-5). His wife, Sarah, was unable to have children. She gave her slave, Hagar, to be Abraham’s wife. Hagar had children for Abraham. What happened? Sarah became jealous of Hagar. This marriage was then full of troubles.
Another polygamist was Esau. He was the firstborn of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau married two Hittite women (Genesis 16:1-5). They caused much grief to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:35). Polygamist marriages affect more than just the man and his wives.
Gideon was a great and brave
leader. He had 70 sons from many wives (Judges
King Solomon had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. His wives turned his heart away from God (I kings 11:3). His downfall as a king was a result of his practice of polygamy.
Nowhere in the Bible can we find polygamy doing any good. Everything that is said about it caused troubles. That has not changed. Today polygamy still causes many marriage problems for those who practice it.
Let us see some Bible principles that teach against the practice of polygamy. Genesis 2:23, 24 says that “a man is to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.” God did NOT say that man was to be joined to his “wives”. He said that man was to be joined to his “wife.” That is one and only one.
Paul compares the husband and wife
to Christ and the church. “For the
husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head
of the church...” (Ephesian
Matthew 19:4-8 speaks about divorce. Jesus Christ shows that God never wanted man (or woman) to divorce. The same is true with polygamy. God does NOT want a man to have more than one wife. Jesus said that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Jesus spoke of one man and one woman marrying. He said that marriage is made-up of one man and one woman. The two make one flesh. When a man has more than one wife, he is sinning. God hates sin.
In I Timothy 3:2 we are told that an elder “MUST” be the husband of “ONE WIFE”. Why not two or more? If it is a good practice, then why should not a church leader be a polygamist? The reason is that God does NOT want that kind of a marriage. Those who practice polygamy are sinning in God’s eyes. They cannot be church leaders or church members.
Let us notice some problems with polygamy in the Bible. First, it causes strife and jealousy. We see it in the lives of those who practice it today. Joseph was sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers because of jealousy from a polygamist marriage. Second, no man can be a proper husband by being a polygamist. He satisfies himself but not his wives. Third, he cannot be a proper father as God intended. If a man has many children how can he be a father who brings them up “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4)? Fourth, polygamy causes a man to go away from God rather than closer to God. We should do nothing that causes us to go away from God. We should do things that cause us to come closer to God. Fifth, it makes man master over woman. God never intended that in marriage. Man is to be the head of the wife and family. God said that a man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5). Christ died for the church. A man must be willing to die for his wife. Is a polygamist ready to do that? I doubt it. His main concern is himself. He wants to be the “big” man. He thinks that by having many wives he is that “big” man. In the eyes of God he is a “little” man instead.
What must a polygamist do if he
wants to become a Christian? First, he
must realize that he is a lost sinner.
He then must BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Mark
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