Christians: Why was it okay for Solomon to have so many spouses and concubines, while you are limited to one?

Question

The wisdom of Solomon is legendary. So why would he reject monogamy?

II Chronicles 1: 7-12 God grants Solomon wisdom.

Answer 1

God did not institute polygamy. The first one mentioned in the Bible with two wives was Lamech, the boastful descendant of Cain. (Gen. 4:19-24) No one practicing polygamy survived the Flood, for Noah and his sons each had one wife. Later, when God dealt with the post-Flood patriarchs he had not yet given extensive laws on human behavior, including marriage. In some instances a man took a secondary wife in order to produce offspring because his wife was barren, as Abraham did at the urging of his wife Sarah. (Gen. 16:1, 2) Yet, it is noteworthy that many times in the Bible where polygamy was involved, there was unhappiness or trouble, as with Sarah and Hagar, Hannah and Peninnah, as well as Solomon’s wives.—Gen. 21:9; 1 Sam. 1:1-6; 1 Ki. 11:1-6.

Hence, with the background of a patriarchal society, when Jehovah accepted the Israelites as his national people polygamy already existed to some extent, though it appears that monogamy was much more common throughout Israel’s history. Acknowledging polygamous marriages that already existed, God gave very stringent laws to regulate and control things. Quite contrary to the charge that God disrespected womanhood and marriage, he enacted highly moral legislation to protect the rights and privileges of the original wife as well as of any secondary wife and her children. (Deut. 21:15-17) Consequently, even though Jehovah did not forbid polygamy, he definitely urged love and respect in marriage, and forbade sexual immorality. His moral standard was righteous, perfect.

Jesus made a significant point on marriage in Matthew 19:8, 9. About the fact that divorce was allowed under the law that God gave through Moses, Christ said: “Moses, out of regard for your hardheartedness, made the concession to you of divorcing your wives, but such has not been the case from the beginning. I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, and marries another commits adultery.” Evidently, just as with divorce, God made the concession of tolerating polygamy, yet bringing it under strict regulation.

This might be compared to God’s permission of the “superior authorities,” the worldly governments. Jehovah did not institute them in the beginning. But they do exist and it is not yet God’s time for removing them. So he gives his servants directions as to how they should conduct themselves in relation to this arrangement that he is allowing for a time.—Rom. 13:1-7.

Just what is the Christian stand on polygamy? Is it permitted, or has God’s period of tolerating it passed?

Before making the comments quoted above, Jesus drew on Genesis 2:24, saying: “A man will leave his father and his mother and will stick to his wife, and the two will be one flesh.” (Matt. 19:5) God gave Adam just one wife. The pattern was that the TWO, not three or four, would be one flesh. Plainly Jesus was directing his followers to return to God’s original way for human marriage, a man’s having only one living wife. Under inspiration the apostle Paul showed that this is the correct understanding. In 1 Corinthians 7:2, he wrote: “Let each man have his own wife and each woman have her own husband.” And he directed that an appointed servant in the congregation was to be “a husband of one wife,” demonstrating the standard for Christians.—Titus 1:6; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12.

God thus brought to a close the period of concession as to the marital arrangement. He simply returned matters to what he instituted in the beginning. There was, then, no change in God’s morality—it remained perfect. And Jehovah continued to oppose sexual immorality. He consistently viewed it as despicable and deserving of severe punishment.—Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 5:9-13; 6:9, 10.

As we have seen, under both arrangements—when he temporarily permitted polygamy and under the Christian system, when he requires monogamy—Jehovah has opposed looseness and sexual immorality, and has encouraged restraint, love and respect in marriage. Moses had spoken of Jehovah as “righteous and upright.” Christ and Paul also referred to Jehovah as righteous. (John 17:25; Rom. 3:26) And we today have good reason to concur with them, knowing that God has been consistent and perfect in morality.

Answer 2

I dispute the notion that Solomon was wise. I think it was not wise to offer to divide the baby in half. What if nobody said anything, out of fear? Or any other possible outcome?

Solomon did, according to the bible, anyway, a lot of things that made no sense.

For one thing, having hundreds of wives and thousands of concubines drained his treasury and took up so much of his time, his kingdom went to ruin after his death. Not too bright, imo.

Solomon is better represented by his poetry than by his acumen as a leader, wisdom, or father/husband. But poetry and wisdom are NOT the same thing!

For my money, Ben Franklin strikes me as someone who really earned the title of 'wise' since he came up with the compromise that allowed the Second Continental Congress to resolve their dispute over big states/small states with the creation of the House of Representatives and Senate. Not only was this decision way more momentous (even at the time) than the one about a baby that Solomon is given credit for, it paved the way for the largest democracy on earth to exist. The US Constitution is still the law of the land, and has lasted far longer than Israel did under Solomon's rule.

Answer 3

You're missing the point. Read Ecclesiastes. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live and he said that life was meaningless outside of a relationship with God. It doesn't matter how much money you have, how much sex you have had, or what kind of success you have had in your life. Life is completely empty without God.

Answer 4

i don't understand that lots concerning to the project, even nonetheless it became into my awareness that Jesus replaced the way each and every physique is to act in marriage. The passages with polygamy are interior the previous testomony and Jesus' new way of life became into interior the hot testomony. Like in those passages: Hebrews 12: 24 to Jesus the mediator of a clean covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a extra valuable be conscious than the blood of Abel.

Answer 5

I don't know that much about the subject, but it was my understanding that Jesus changed the way people are to behave in marriage. The passages with polygamy are in the old testament and Jesus' new way of life was in the new testament.hebrews 12: 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Answer 6

It was never ok for Solomon to have so many wives.
In the end it was Solomon's downfall. Read the whole book.

Answer 7

Christians are not allow to have more than 1 wife. If you want to have more than 1 wife, I recommend you to join Islam.

Our God will not agree with pervert, child molester, sex maniac

Answer 8

I never knew that. You opened my mind good man. I shall start loving multiple women at the same time from now on. Thank you !

Answer 9

Why do you think there was the great flood? legendary----- it wasnt ok. God grants wisdom butone must use it -------keep on reading -----

Answer 10

Dumbass Soloman was not a christian ______________ he was in the picture long b/4 Christ established the christain religion and was under the Mosaic dispensation and not the christian dispensation ___