SHOCKING FACT The Bible Reveals About POLYGAMY

Permit me to drop this caveat before you delve fully into this insightful article. At some point in this article, you may be tempted to jump into conclusion due to topic at hand.

DON'T DO THAT... 

Ensure you read the whole article before you come up with any conclusion. At the end, you will understand, quite well, the shocking fact the Bible reveals about marrying more than one wife.

Actually, I've taught this polygamous topic from the Bible point of view numerous times, up to the point that I can't recollect how many times I've taught it to different set of people at different Christian Bible teaching centres.

Due to the number of repetitive teaching I've done on this christian polygamous topic, I will simply paste my teaching on it from one of my Advance Bible Study Classes.

Read on SLOWLY so that you won't miss any vital point...

"The HERITAGE of the children of Israel is simply what we call the traditions of Israel. It is very easy to misinterpret the Bible without the foreknowledge of the heritage of the people of God, ISREALITES.

 Notably, at any point in time I mention the Heritage of Israel...all I'm simply saying is Tradition. I will be using this word interchangeably. 

In interpreting the word of God, you must never EVER mix up the heritage of Israel with the word of God. They are not the same and can never be the same. Anyone who doesn't know the heritage of Israel will keep misinterpreting the word of God...thinking he or she is doing the right thing.

Moving forward, to learn the tradition and culture of another nation, the very first thing you should do is to eliminate or delete your own culture and tradition, temporarily, off your mind.

I've come across good preachers & teachers of the world of God in several places in Nigeria who rubbished preaching & teaching of the word of God with our Nigerian or American culture & tradition. This is why I tell people not to assume anything about the word of God... Assumptous presumption is never tenable in the interpretation of the word of God.

Without mincing words, let's delve fully into the heritage of Israel...

First, it is a tradition in ISREAL for Isrealites to tear their clothes when there are sad occurrences... Notably, this has nothing to do with the word of God. More so, it is the tradition of the Isrealites to wear black colored clothes and remove their TURBANS when someone dies in their family.

You know the Cline of Israel. Priest and prophets of God wear TURBANS on their heads which they don't remove except someone close to them dies.

That was why it was a serious punishment for Aaron and his two leftover children, Ithamar & Eleazar, not to remove their TURBANS when their other two brothers died for offering strange fire to God.

In fact, they were about removing their TURBANS and rend their clothes when the bad news got to them, but Moses quickly told them never to do such because God was still angry. Had they rend — tear — or remove their TURBANS, the whole family would have been killed by God for his burning fierce anger.

In other words, the tradition or heritage of removing turban when someone dies has nothing to do with the word of God even though you are reading about it from the Bible... It was just a tradition in Israel."

Hope you are getting to see that the heritage of Israel has nothing to do with the word of God even though the Heritage was found in the word of God?

Perhaps, you are still confuse about the heritage of Israel. Give me 3 minutes more and you will understand what I'm driving at before we get to the shocking fact the Bible reveals about marrying more than one wife.

Here is another tradition of Israel...

"It was a tradition in ISREAL for a child of 12 years to be treated as an adult. Meaning, adulthood begins at the age of 12 according to their tradition in ISREAL. 

If you don't know this tradition or heritage, you would have thought Joseph and Mary were not caring for leaving Jesus — at the age of 12 — behind in Jerusalem.

Actually, they were not bad parent. They've been going to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover on a yearly basis. But this time around, they left Jesus supposing him to be among the crowd, not knowing he had stayed back at JERUSALEM.

Of course, they left him like that because they were already treating him as an adult. I told you at 12 according to their heritage, a child was no longer a child but an adult.

In America, a child becomes mature at age 19, Nigeria is 18, Japan is 20. However, in the Bible days, a child got matured at age 12.

In retrospect, you cannot see things of the Bible from the perspective of things in your country. Even the traditions of Israel must not and never be mixed up with the word of God talkless of the traditions or heritage of your own country.

Now, here is where we are going... This is where you will discover the shocking fact the Bible reveals about marrying more than one wife.

Comically, I've seen preachers or teachers who don't know about the traditions of Israel and said it is Biblical to marry more than one wife.

Ooohhh my God! They've mixed up the tradition of Israel with the word of God. These people do not know that their tradition in ISREAL allows them to marry more than one wife when situation demands for it.

For instance, one of the most powerful prophets in the Bible, Samuel, came from a polygamous home. His father Elkanah married two wives (1 Samuel 1:2). 

Hope you are following?

Even Abraham, God's friend, married Sarah and had one concubine, Hagar. 

What of another Bible patriarch, Jacob. He married 2 wives as well— Leah and Rachel. Meaning the SPECIAL 12 TRIBES OF ISREAL were product of a polygamous home.

Hope you are still with me? 

ALL THE INSTANCES YOU READ ABOVE ARE SIMPLY TRADITIONS OF ISREAL.

If you don't believe me, read this particular Bible verse below...

Matthew 19:4 - in the beginning God created just ONE MAN & ONE WOMAN.

That was the statement of Jesus to the Pharisees to prove to them that God never gave Man two women at the beginning of creation. Therefore, Matthew 19:4 confirms one man and one woman as the only biblical standard of marriage.

So, to reiterate, marrying more than one wife is simply the tradition of Israel...not the word of God.

Mind you, sometimes the tradition of Israel go in line with the word of God, but not in all cases. 

Now, we've gotten to the shocking fact the Bible reveals about polygamy. 

Pay VERY close attention here.

LISTEN & READ CAREFULLY: You see this tradition of Israel — marrying more than one wife — is against the word of God, but surprisingly the Almighty God is not against it.

The bold statement above is worth reading for the second time. If I were you I would read that statement 3 times before I continue reading.

Onward...

Who are we to question God...HE IS UNQUESTIONABLE.

Why did I even make that kind of statement?

You see we figured out God is not against marrying more than one wife when we studied the life of the man after God's own heart, David.

David, actually, had more than 7 wives in the Bible. Not once did God say anything about them or fight David for his number of wives. 

If you read 1 Samuel 12 you will see why God was angry with David: He took another man's wife and devised means to kill the man who happened to be his soldier.

 The Bible text revealed God gave David the wives of Saul when Saul died even though he knew David had more than 7 wives ALREADY. 

Hope you read that right???

Now God told him if what he had given him was little, he should have requested for more (hope you got that) rather than taking another person's wife.

Dont let me assume you've not read that part in your Bible... See it in 2 Samuel 12:8 for God's statement when he was angry with David for taking another person's wife.

2 Samuel 12:8

I gave you your master’s house and your MASTER’S WIVES into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. AND IF THAT HAD BEEN TOO LITTLE, I ALSO WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU MUCH MORE!

Please, don't be confuse about the English word "into your keeping" in that Bible verse. The Hebrew word translated as "into your keeping" is from the Hebrew word בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ (bəḥêqeḵā) which means "lie into your bosom of wife." This same Hebrew word is what you will see in Micah 7:5 in Hebrew Bible as bəḥêqeḵā  ...

Micah 7:5 - Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth FROM HER THAT LIETH IN THY BOSOM

"From her that lieth in thy bosom" means your wife. So, there is no confusion as to that "into your keep or into your care" as translated in 2 Samuel 12:8 as it means nothing but one's wife.

CAVEAT: I didn't write this article to encourage Christian men to marry more than one wife because God is not against it. My reason is to enlighten other Christians out there so that we can stop judging other Christians in or from polygamous homes.

Mind you, and lastly, if you are a minister of God like me, you CAN NOT marry more than one ( 1 Timothy 3:2).