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Why did God allow polygamy among His people in the OT?. 1. Why Study Polygamy?. Be prepared to teach – 1 Pet. 3:15 False views on repentance and mdr Maintain our honor for marriage, Heb. 13:4 Understand the forbearance of God & His will for all sinners today. 2.
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Why Study Polygamy? • Be prepared to teach – 1 Pet. 3:15 • False views on repentance and mdr • Maintain our honor for marriage, Heb. 13:4 • Understand the forbearance of God & His will for all sinners today 2
Monogamy: God’s Design from Creation – Gen. 2:18-24 • Woman a helpmeet, 2:18, 20-22; Mk. 10:6 • Husband & wife are one flesh, 2:24(Eph. 5:31); 1 Cor. 6:16-18; Mal. 2:14 • Joy attends monogamy, Prov. 5:18; Eccl. 9:9 • A figure of Christ’s relationship with His church, Eph. 5:23, 28-32; 4:4 3
Polygamy in the Bible(and its Consequences) • Began in worldliness, Gen. 4:19 • Implied among the sins of Genesis 6:1-2 • Customary practice of plural wives brought grief & pain into the home • Sarah & Hagar (Gen. 16:1-6) • Isaac (one wife) (Gen. 24:67) • Esau (Gen. 26:34-35) • Jacob (Gen. 29:18, 27-28; 30:1-13) 4
Polygamy in the Bible(and its Consequences) • Other notable polygamists • Gideon (Jgs. 8:30-31) • Elkanah (1 Sam. 1:1, 2, 6-7) • David (1 Chrn. 3:1-9) • Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:1-4) 5
Polygamy in the Bible(and its Consequences) • Law of Moses discouraged & limited polygamy • Limited to wealthy, Exo. 21:10-11; Deut. 21:15-16 • Kings of Israel were told not to practice polygamy, Deut. 17:17 (Neh. 13:25-26) • NT reaffirms God’s rule from the beginning, Matt. 19:4-6; 1 Cor. 7:2 6
Why did God Allow Polygamy? • God permitted polygamy but never gave His approval • Polygamy was not God’s uniform will on marriage • Polygamy was the invention of men, not God, Eccl. 7:29 • With the Law of Moses, God discouraged it & hedged against its practice 7
Why did God Allow Polygamy? • The forbearance of God, Psa. 78:37-39 • The hardness of men’s hearts,cf. Gen. 6:3, 5-8 • God suspended the immediate rendering of His just punishment against sin, Acts 17:30 • God held up/endured rather than immediately impose His wrath,Rom. 3:25-26; Acts 14:16 • We cannot conclude that God approves of polygamy today – or that He ever did! • Today He calls all sinners to repent,Acts 17:31 • Polygamy is a sin – a violation of God’s marriage law,Matt. 19:4-6 8
Polygamy Must Repent or Face God’s Wrath! • It is adultery, Rom. 7:2-3; 1 Cor. 7:2 • Repentance requires the adulterer (incl. the polygamist) to end his adulterous marriage(s), Acts 26:20 (19:18-19) 9