Why do some Old Testament Bible heroes have multiple wives at once while the Bible never condones polygamy—the marriage of one man to multiple women? Though they were honorable individuals, David and Solomon made poor decisions regarding the upbringing of their families. For political, cultural, or personal reasons, they may have wed more than once, but these unions frequently ended in unhappy marriages and God’s wrath.
Biblical view on marriage
“A man will leave his mother and father and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh,” according to Genesis 2:24. This passage is cited by Paul in Ephesians 5:31 and by Jesus in Matthew 19:5 to bolster their respective positions on marriage. The Bible’s wisdom books, such as Proverbs 5 and Song of Songs, further develop this concept and support a man’s faithful commitment to a single woman. Paul outlines the moral qualities required of church leaders in 1 Timothy 3:2, and it is evident that they must be the husband of a single wife. Biblical doctrine consistently emphasizes that marriage is the union of two people into one flesh via physical, sexual, and spiritual intimacy, ruling out
So, why did they have so many wives?
Given that God teaches polygamy to be blatantly immoral, then why did some of the great men of the Old Testament marry more than once? Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon are a few examples. God had powerful conversations with and uses of these folks; they were magnificent men. Acts 13:22 describes David in particular as a “man after God’s own heart,” however all of these individuals lacked perfection and committed mistakes in judgment. In fact, none of them—aside from Solomon—are said to be exceptionally intelligent. Hebrews 12 makes it clear that their greatness was a result of their confidence in God’s promises, which should inspire all of us modern Christians who rely solely on faith.
Why then did these men take multiple wives? They took this action in order to have more offspring and to negotiate political terms with other people groups and countries. According to the Bible, God never advised doing this because He wants His followers to fully rely on Him for their security and future, even though it may have looked like a good idea and was a popular practice for people living three thousand years ago. The Bible does, in fact, demonstrate that polygamy led to unhappy households, rivalry amongst spouses, violent arguments over inheritance, and a deterioration of Israel’s devotion to their Lord God.
As an illustration, consider 1 Kings 11, where the Lord is angry with Solomon despite his wealth and knowledge due to his numerous foreign marriages. They are to blame for the introduction of false idols to Israel. To put it another way, even though God considered Solomon to be the wisest of all the kings (1 Kings 3:12), his choice to wed numerous wives was not prudent in God’s eyes and resulted in numerous issues for his subjects.
Only God is entirely trustworthy and intelligent, and in His kindness, He uses imperfect people. This applies to both modern people and historical guys who made poor choices regarding their family lives.
