CHAPTER TWO BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF POLYGAMY Introduction From the beginning, man had a monogamous family.

God considered the firs t man (Adam) as being lonely and he brought Eve from Adams ribs and Eve became hi s helper (Gen. 2:18-23). So we can see that Gods purpose for marriage beginning f rom the creation is threefold: for companionship, for mutual help and for sexual satisfaction. Then these can be referred to as three essentials of a valid marr iage, for (from a Biblical standpoint) a marriage exists when these three factors exist, and does not exist without them. Initially, a woman is meant for a man and polygamy was not introduced by God. Then what brought about polygamy? This question will lead us to the origin of polygamy and its later development. The Origin of Polygamy Lamech from the family of Cain originated polygamy and he was the first man who violated the established ordinance of monogamy by having more than one wife (Gen . 4:19). Some people think that Lamech practiced polygamy because He being inten sely devotional and disgusted with the monogenic polyplastic of defrauding husba nds of those days sought a new remedy in polygamy and the peculiar intellectual endowments given to his offspring by the creator may be taken as His assent to t he course adopted. The above statement can be proved wrong because we know of only few men excluding Lamech who were godly during their own time. For example, Abel did not even marry before he was killed. Enoch and Noah were monogamists. Nowhere in th e Bible was Lamech mentioned as a devoted man. Rather, he was described as a mur derer, Gen. 4:23. Therefore no one could say categorically why Lamech took the second wife . However one can conclude that Lamech demonstrated his stubbornness by violatin g Gods order of marriage which is monogamy and adopted polygamy. Development of Polygamy in the Old Testament Opinions are differed on whether God approved polygamy in the Old Testam ent or not. Some people say that, God approved polygamy and that was why the pol ygamist were rich e.g. Solomon. On the other hand some people say that from the Old Testament to this present time, polygamy is an act of disobedience to God. B ible personalities who practiced polygamy violated Gods commands, despised Gods pr imordial pattern of marriage, and there suffered certain consequences for their disobedience. Truly speaking, there was no verbal statement or law condemning polygamy in the Old Testament. It is obvious that the practice apparently became general during the time of Mosaic Law. Yet the Mosaic Law only accepted polygamy as pre vailing custom but it is not approved or advertised. It was the intention of Mos aic Law to restrict and limit polygamy through wise and human regulations, but w e cannot deny the later development of polygamy in the Old Testament. Abraham was one of the first men who practiced polygamy in the Old Testa ment. Abrahams wife, Sarah was barren, and she gave her maid Hagar to Abraham to have a child through her. Did God approve this action? No, truly Abraham did not know how God would make him the father of all nations when he had not got a chi ld, yet it was a solid promise which God knew how to fulfil. No wonder, Dr. Jami eson says, it was a wrong step indicating a want of simple reliance on God, and Sa rah was the first to reap the fruits of her device. Polygamy did not in any way favour Abraham because he only reaped the bi tter fruits. He was faithless, this was a sin against God. Secondly, polygamous home hurt Sarahs feeling. Hagar despised her and Sarah revenged with harsh treatm ent so Hagar fled to the wilderness. Not these alone, Ishmael, Hagars son, became a thorn in the flesh of Isaac, Sarahs son. Sarah could not endure his son been m ocked by Ishmael and she insisted that Hagar and Ismael should be sent away. The consequences of Abrahams polygamous home are heavy on the Church of t

oday. Since Ishmael was the father of the Arabs and Ishmaels religion originated from Arabia, we would agree today, that Ishmaels generation has done more harm to Christianity that good. Another character who practiced polygamy was Jacob whose father Isaac was a mono gamist. Jacob worked for the younger sister, Rachael and Leah her elder sister w hich was given to him instead. He laboured for another seven years just to get R achael. He at last married two sisters which was forbidden in Lev. 18:18, and you shall marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness. Frankly enough, we should admit that Jacobs family was full of evil rivalry, quar relling between Rachael and Leah, jealousies and unhappiness (Gen. 29-31). This house of disorderliness led to disunity among the twelve children of Jacob. Some people say that, eleven of Jacobs sons united to deceive their father, and it is claimed that such unity excludes the possibility of jealousy, this statement is c ertainly wrong because the unity of the eleven sons was a murderous jealousy uni ty (Act 8:9, RSV). Their jealousy against Joseph made them sold him. Samuel also was born into a polygamous home. Elkananh had two wives, Hannah who was barren and Penninah who had children provoked Hannah to make her fret (1 Sam . 1:6). It was an unpleasant condition for Hannah and she could no longer bear the mocke ry of her rival, Penninah. A defender claims that if God did not approve polygam y he would not have given Samuel to Hannah. This view is not worthy of acceptanc e because Hannah had undergone series of bitterness before Samuel was born. Why does the Bible call Penninah the adversary of Hannah if polygamy was recognized by God? One can see that the home of Elikanah was a sorrowful one; this was an o utcome of polygamy. David, a man of God was not left out in the community of polygamists. When Saul took away Davids wife, Michal, David married Abigeal, Nabals widow and h e also married Ahinoam and he became a polygamist (1Sam. 25:43). Yet David was n ot satisfied, he married Maggith, Abital and Elgah (2 Sam. 3:2-5). David was aga in so selfish that he killed Uriah the Hittite and took Bathsheba the murdered m ans wife with whom he formerly committed adultery. Today, some people support the idea of polygamy by pointing out that if polygamy was not godly, David and Solomon would not have practiced it, after all no rivalry occurred in the home of David among the women. To respond to this st atement, suffice to say that, though we do have any record of quarrelling wives in the home of David, but David ended his life in the midst of rivalry between A donijah and Solomon. The rivalry came as a result of struggle for the throne. Th ese two sons came from different mothers and there was disunity between them, th is is the consequence of polygamy. Davids family was not peaceful because there was a record of murder, Absa lom killed Ammon his half-brother. God did not approve Solomons polygamous life n ot his many wives turned his heart after other gods or his heart was not right w ith the Lord his God. In his later life, Solomon realized that monogamy is an id eal marriage (Songs of Solomon 6:8, 9). To sum it up, all the above mentioned polygamists in the Old Testament u nderwent bitterness, jealousy and rivalry which is an indication that their home s lacked peace. Polygamy and the New Testament Majority of those who advocate for polygamy do so because the New Testament does not clearly condemn polygamy except the mention of a Bishop, who is to be eligi ble, must be a husband of one wife (I Tim.3:2,12). Various views of Polygamy in the New Testament Some people say that Jesus Christ was silent on the matter of polygamy which ind icates that he approved of it. Along with this, the four gospels and the book of Acts said nothing concerning polygamy which means it is acceptable. Some people say that, Jesus Christ was a descendant of polygamous ancestors and it did not hinder Him from fulfilling his work as the saviour, which means there

is no evil in polygamy. This view is wrong because Jesus was identified with th e monogamists. Lamech descended from Cain while Christ descended from Seth, a mo nogamist. However all came from Adam, a monogamist. Some people say that one flesh that was mentioned by God in Genesis 2:24 w as repeated by Jesus in Matthew 19:5 is not meant for monogamy. Thus says Eugene Hillman, the purpose of these sayings of Jesus was not to repudiate polygamy but rather to stress the permanency or indissolubility of marriage.6 Hillman further argues that, Our Lords reference to one flesh in this discussion should not consider as a condem nation of polygamy . In the Old Testament one flesh has the obvious and unavoidable connotation of family unity and kinship solidarity. He quotes John Mckenzie: fle sh designates kindred (in a very concrete sense; all the members of a single kin ship) group have one flesh, which is conceived as a collective reality possessed by all; In his own argument against one flesh as a mark of monogamy, Edward Sch illebeeckx says: The idea of one flesh provides an answer to the question: How can the division of the old clans and the foundation of new clans be justified? A man leaves his father and his mother (Gen 2:24) in order8 to found a new clan, a new house or a new one flesh. So one flesh does not mean monogamy according to Shillebeeckx. Hillman b elieves that a wife is becoming one flesh with her husband and she becomes his k inship member so many wives can become one flesh with the kinship of the same hu sband. Therefore, from the above arguments we can derive that these commentators term t he teaching of Jesus on one flesh to be the permanency of marriage and that he was silent about polygamy. So monogamy as the original intention of marriage is bei ng challenged. However, the fact that Jesus and Apostle Paul obviously presuppos ed monogamy in their teachings cannot be overlooked. Let us examine the inferenc es supporting monogamy below. The Inferences Supporting Monogamy Jesus Christ wisely taught the idea of monogamy when He talked about the monogamy marriage between Adam and Eve, and violation against this order is as a result of mans hard-heartedness of. (Mt. 19:4-6). The two shall become one is o bviously monogamous because Jesus did not say the three or all the wives shall b ecome one with their husband. Furthermore, Pauls teaching concerning Christian homes favours monogamous marriage. When he mentioned wives he mentioned husbands, there is no doubt to b elieve that a woman is entitled to a man. The analogy of family and Church in Ep h. 5:21-33 cannot be applied to polygamous homes. When Paul says husband, he say s wife. The demanded love and respect cannot be totally fulfilled in a polygamou s home. In the Pastoral Epistles Paul only taught bishops and deacons to be husb ands of one wife (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). Then all other church members we re free to have more than one wife? No, because the fact that polygamy was exist ing did not mean that it was approved. If polygamy was perfect, officers of the Church would not have been warned against it. By the fact that bishops and deaco ns were forbidden polygamous homes, it is evidence that polygamy has and it will continue to be a hindrance to Gods work. Also one can conclude that all the laid down rules for Christian homes in the New Testament can be practiced only in a monogamous set up. All the practices, debates and interpretations of the Bible in favour of polygamy is as a result of man shifting from Gods view of marriage to mans view, which ought not to be. Factors Responsible for Polygamy A. Popularity: Many men become polygamists because of social pride. Thus they sa y that nobody will recognize them if they do not add to the number of their wive

s. History reveals that in the olden days, the more wives you had, the more rega rd, because a person will be looked upon as being strong and wealthy. B. Cultural Inclination: In Africa, polygamy is not an abomination. The culture permits it. No wonder those who call for return to Africa tradition and heritage say that monogamy is a western idea while polygamy is an Africa reality. In his book Polygamy Reconsidered Hillman Eugene said, Experience shows that, because o f circumstances, it is sometimes difficult to harmonize culture with Christian t eaching. C. Barrenness of the first wife: As we are going to see it under the advantages of polygamy later, childlessness has led many men and women to polygamous life. 1. Men: Some men marry another wife who will bear children if the first wif e is barren. 2. Women: Some women have remarried because they could not get children in their first marriage. D. Failure to Produce Particular Gender of Children: My husband has married anoth er wife secretly because I always give birth to female children, a woman said in a court. Some men who lack certain gender married another wives to get that desi red gender. E. Unbearable Behaviour of the First Wife: On an occasion a man pointedly and ti relessly remarks that I wish to marry another wife because I am fed up with my wi fes attitude. On the other hand, another man said, I have been telling my wife to p ack out of my house, she may not agree until she sees me with another wife. I ca nt just cope with her. In his own reaction to his wifes action a business man said, It is high time now I look for another wife and let this one go away else she wi ll soon kill me. But if she wishes to stay I dont care to become a polygamist but she will go and live with my mother. F. Adultery: It is undeniable that some men go after young girls when they encou nter sexual dissatisfaction with their wife. Some may not have any intention of marrying a second wife but unexpectedly, one of these young girls may become pre gnant and the man may be asked to marry such a girl as second wife. G. Singleness: In the traditional African setting, singleness was not common, bu t modern forces, economic, social, religious and educational influences have bro ught singles to the forefront of society. Generally speaking there are more sing les ladies than men in the Church. The question is, can polygamy save our single s? I wonder if polygamy can solve the problem. Society can hardly reduce singlen ess include: 1. Disappointment Many girls have received disappointment from their financ es which have made them to remain singles. 2. Academic minded Some ladies are academic minded that they pay no or litt le attention to the matter of marriage until they are overdue for marriage. A si ster came to a youth pastor after finishing her education that she needed a man. However, in some cases these educated ladies, get husbands such as widowers, or people like them. 3. Sinless perfection Some fanatic ladies prefer to remain single because t hey regard most men as sinners. Since they cannot cope with any men they do not go into marriage with anybody. 4. Religious purpose There are some ladies who like to remain single in ord er to become more effective in the work of the Lord. They see marriage as an obs tacle to their mission work. 5. Voluntary Singleness Some ladies like to stay single because they never want to be referred to as married women. They prefer self-dependence. These type s of ladies do not want to marry any men who will de their husbands but they are meant for outside men who will be their sugar Daddies and man-friends. These wo men are known as societal women. So we can simply say that no matter how the rate of polygamy increases some ladi es will still remain single and polygamy cannot solve the problem. Though there are several reasons for polygamy but none is without a solution and as such in a ll situations there is a way for monogamy. Polygamy and Family Affairs

A. i.

The Advantages of polygamy Polygamy is a solution to barrenness If the first wife is barren, the man can have children through the wife (wives) he later marries. However, in many cases the problem of unfruitfulness c omes from the man. ii. Support in work and substitution Many men especially in the olden days became polygamists because of agricultural value. These men would take their wives to their farms as helpers. This method enabled them become great farmers. If there are many women and many children muc h will be done in the farm. Also if one dies the other remains. Solution: The mo re workers the more food will be consumed. So a man who limits the size of his f amily will also have enough to feed them. If one dies the husband can marry agai n. iii. Solution to immorality Many men have more than one wife because of their sexual desire. That is some men believed that the best way of solving their sexual desire when their w ives are heavy with pregnancy or breast feeding is to have more than one wife so as to prevent adultery. B. The Disadvantages of Polygamy The disadvantages of polygamy go thus: 1. Polygamy opens the door for dissatisfaction which usually occur to a pol ygamist. If a man is not satisfied with the first wife he may not be satisfied w ith the second wife and it may lead him to marry three or more wives which may e ventually break the home. 2. Polygamy brings mistrust between the husband and the first wife. Sister Mowumi said, I dont trust my husband again since he has another wife. In polygamou s homes the wives withdraw their trust to the husbands and to their rivals. 3. According to pastor Laudarji, polygamy robs woman of her rightful stand i n the home which the Bible says is that of a help-mate and makes her a disposabl e commodity. 4. It makes divorce easier and remarriage possible. Lawyer Francis said, Man y woman divorce because they cannot live with their rivals. 5. It also produces more children that cannot be adequately cared for. This is a sin against God. But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeli ever (1 Tim. 5:8). 6. Polygamy also creates an unhealthy competition between the women as a re sult of their desire to win the mans attention. In fact this the main disadvantag e of polygamy. Rivalry brings lack of peace. Bitterly a woman complained to me t hat since her husband married the second 7. Furthermore, polygamy always brings unhealthy hostility between the half -brothers and half-sisters. A sister said, she is supposed to have finished her post-graduate education if her father loves her as the other wifes children. Ther efore she concluded that she has nothing to do with her father and her half-brot her and half-sister. 8. Polygamy kills a satisfying marriage relationship between a man and a wo man as Bible expects it to be. Also loyalty will be divided. 9. Polygamy can also lead to psychological isolation. Inability to live in p eace may express itself in open warfare or in cold isolation of two individual i n the house. 10. Lastly, polygamy ultimately results in an entirely ungodly living. It en courages impure living on both sides because the husband will be denied some pri vileges in the church and it may make him to become anti-church, like will accep t the first wife and the other wives may feel neglected and then desert the chur ch. In summary, the disadvantages of polygamy overwhelm its advantages therefore one can say that monogamy has lesser evil than polygamy.

Biblical Background to the Concept of Polygamy The belief that polygamy is an acceptance biblical practice is often largely bas ed on the several examples of polygamy in the Bible. However, just because Scrip ture records an action does not mean that God approves of that action. The Bible is a factual written account of important or historical events as they occurred . One of the factor that makes the Bible very believable is the act that does no t make any endeavour to minimize or cover up the sins or failures of the people whose stories are told, nor does it seek to exaggerate their good qualities, bu t records them just as they happened. The first case of polygamy chronicled in the scripture is when Lamech, a descent of Cain, took to himself two wives: (Genesis 4:19). Also, among the patr iarch usually listed as polygamists are two giants of Old Testament history, Abr aham and Moses. The only reason that Abraham consistently makes the list of Bibl ical polygamist can only be because of his second marriage to Keturah, since it is not at all clear that he married Keturah before his wife Sarah died. Sarahs de ath is recorded in Genesis 23:1-2, but it is not until Genesis 25, that we are t old that Abraham married Keturah and had six sons by her. While it is true that Hebrew composition does not always place events in chronological order, the narrative here does so in the order of time. While the fact that Keturah is called a concubine in Genesis 25:6 (she is also called a c oncubine in 1Chronicle 1:32 and may imply that Sarah was still alive. One also h as to consider that Abraham took no concubine nor second wife until Sarah hersel f gave him Hargar. Another Old Testament figure was Jacob, even though Jacob, in his earlie r years, seemed to have faults aplenty, was he also guilty of simply taking to w ife any woman he fancied? The answer to that is a resounding no! Jacob became a polygamist because of the deception of his father in-law, Laban. It happened tha t when Jacob fell in love with Rachael and worked for her father Laban for many years in order to win her hand. However Laban deceived Jacob and substituted his other daughter Leah in Rachaels place with the excuse that it was their custom t o give the younger in marriage before the elder. Since he was the victim of fraud, Jacob probably had ground to reject th is marriage, but did not. He accepted Leah but apparently could not give Rachael up, eventually married her as well. Secondly, Jacob was a polygamist when Racha el followed the footsteps of Sarah by getting him to give her children through h er handmaid Bilhah. And Leah, who apparently was not getting pregnant again, gav e her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob. Also Esau, the fraternal twin brother of Jacob, the Patriarch and founde r of the Israelites. Esau and Jacob were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and gran dsons of Abraham and Sarah. Esaus wives included daughters of the Canaanites.