Polygamy is not God’s intended structure for marriage. When God created the institution of marriage, that was in the garden of Eden. It was between One Man and One Woman. We shall look at the examples of Abraham and Solomon and see how God reveals the dangers of polygamy, and look at how the new testament reveals God’s true standard for marriage.

Genesis 2:24 (WEB) Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.

It is true, that Adam and Eve fell, and were chased out of the Garden, and after that, we see God allowing men to have more than one wife. But Just because God allows something does not mean he is approving it.

When Jesus comes, he commands people to return back to God’s standard set in Eden. And Jesus makes it clear that marriage involves two people, who become one flesh. 

Matthew 19:4-5 (NET)

4 He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female,

5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

Why Did God Allow The Patriarchs?

Before the Son of God was revealed, all men were in bondage, and God allowed certain things because his salvation had not yet been revealed. 

The apostle Paul explains.

Acts 17:30 (NET)
Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,

If you look at Abraham, David and Solomon, who had polygamous relationships, you actually see that those polygamous relationships caused damage to them and to the generations that followed.

1. Abraham

Abraham had a child with Hagar, that created conflict between Sarah and Hagar, to the extend that Sarah asked for Hagar to be sent away,

Genesis 16:4-5 (NET)

4 He had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!”

Even God agreed that Hagar and her son had to be sent away.

Genesis 21:10-12 (NET)

10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset about the boy or your slave wife. Do all that Sarah is telling you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted.

As you can see, this created conflict and trouble for Abraham. To top this, at the end, Hagar’s son is Ishmael, the Father of the Arabs. Sarah’s son is Isaac, the Father of the Jews.

Till today, there is unending war in the middle east, between Sarah’s children and Hagar’s children. 

So though God allowed Abraham to make this mistake, through him we see the problems with Polygamy because God never made marriage to be polygamous.

2. Solomon

Another person given as an example is Solomon. Most people that say, What about Solomon, have never read the story of Solomon fully.

If they had, they would know that Solomon’s polygamy led him to lose his relationship with God, and he lead Israel into idolatry and it led to him losing the ten tribes of Israel.

It was his greatest mistake.

1 Kings 11:4-6 (NET)

4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.

5 Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.

6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight; he did not remain loyal to the Lord, like his father David had.

God had commanded through Moses, that a leader must not have many wives.

Deuteronomy 17:17 (NET)

Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold.

Ultimately, God had to severely punish Solomon for this evil.

1 Kings 11:11 (NET)

So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

Marrying many wives, was Solomon’s greatest mistake which led him away from God, and into judgment. 

That story serves as an example of why we must not marry many wives. I could go on and show the same things with David and Moses, but the point is clear already.

THE NEW TESTAMENT COMMAND

Polygamy is not God’s standard for marriage, that is why, if a person wants to be chosen to serve in any position in the church, we must make sure that he is the husband of ONE wife.

1 Timothy 3:12 (WEB)
Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

Titus 1:6 (WEB) 
if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.

1 Timothy 3:2 (WEB) 
The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;_

That’s why the New Testament of Christ, which restores Gods perfect standard tells every man to love his wife. Not his wives.

Ephesians 5:33 (WEB)
Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

What if A Person in Polygamy Get’s Saved

In the times of the Apostles, many cultures practiced polygamy, so it was very common for people who had already married more than one wife to come to Christ, and for women who had been married as a second or third wife to get saved. In such cases what do we do?

What the Apostles did not do, was to ask people to divorce their wives. We have no record of that in the scriptures.

But the Bible gives two conditions for men who come into the church already married to more than one wife.

a) They should not seek to marry more wives

1 Corinthians 7 is the chapter of the bible dedicated to new testament rules regarding marriage and divorce. He first sets the standard, that the best state is for a man to not even touch a woman, but if he can’t do that then let him have his own wife.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2 (KJV)
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

So, if you can’t stay single, then have one wife. That’s it. That’s the rule.

The apostle then gives a principle that we can apply to those who were already in a polygamous marriage, when they heard about Christ. They must not seek to add or subtract, but remain as they are from that point.

1 Corinthians 7:16-17 (NIV)
16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.

1 Corinthians 7:20 (NIV) 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

1 Corinthians 7:24 (NIV) 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

b) They should not be given positions of leadership in the church

We have already looked at the command that when looking for a person to serve in church, they must strictly be a husband of one wife. So a person who comes to Christ already in a polygamous relationship, should not seek to add more, but is automatically disqualified from any position of leadership.

1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV)
2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife…

We have already seen that Polygamy is not God’s standard for marriage, it causes divisions and strife that can last for generations, and it leads men out of a good relationship with God. This is why we can not choose men in such circumstances to be leaders, and that is why those who are in the church must not marry more than one wife.

Conclusion

The institution of marriage represents the relationship between Christ and the church. It is a sacred institution. The devil is trying to destroy it.

If the devil destroys marriage, he has destroyed families and by extension communities and nations.

LGBTQ and Polygamy are perversions of marriage propagated by the enemy, to destroy the image of the union between Christ and his church.

Stay away from Polygamy. It separates you from God as it did Solomon, leads you into judgement and creates generational divisions as it did with Abraham.

STAY BLESSED.