The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
February 15, 2009
In
This Issue:
Were
Polygamy and Adultery Ever Legal?
by
Steve Klein
Time
to Panic?
by
Bryan Gibson
Were Polygamy and Adultery ever Legal?
I have been asked the following question: God's original marriage law was one man one woman, yet Moses allowed the Jews to divorce for many reasons. Many Jews had multiple wives including David who is said to have been a "man after God's own heart." This was not acceptable under either law. How do we explain this and could we "get by with" the same today?
The Old Testament was certainly "written for our learning" (Romans 15:4). A first glance at our question SEEMS to suggest that one thing we learn from the Old Testament is that a person may be acceptable to God while ignoring His laws for marriage. Genesis 2:24 states God's law from the beginning: "A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.''
Monogamy, not polygamy, was God's design for marriage from the outset. TWO would become ONE. Yet polygamy seems to have been tolerated by God even among great heroes of faith. The questioner mentions David, but we could also add the names of Abraham, Jacob, Esau, Gideon and Solomon to the list, along with many other lesser notables from the Old Testament.
However, this does not mean that we can "get by with" ignoring God's laws for marriage. Here are the reasons:
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David and other heroes of faith committed some sins which the Old Testament records, but passes over without condemning. This does not necessarily mean that these sins were allowed or that correction was never made for them; we just do not have a record of it in the Old Testament. To conclude that we can get by with polygamy or adultery today because David was not specifically condemned for polygamy, one would also have to conclude that we can get by with lying, killing and dancing naked in public because David was not specifically condemned for these things either. However, it should be noted that God intended for David to have several wives for He gave Saul's wives to David (2 Samuel 12:8). As the following point proves, polygamy was not out of harmony with God's law at that time.
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The Law of God given through Moses does in fact make allowance for polygamy. It is NOT ACCURATE to say that polygamy was "not acceptable" under the Law of Moses. For one thing, a man was supposed to marry his brother's widow, apparently whether he already had a wife or not (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Beyond this, the Law of Moses allowed polygamous marriages because it contained specific regulations for them. Read Deuteronomy 21:15-16: "If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn." Whether similar unrecorded allowances were made by God directly to the Patriarchs before the time of Moses is a matter of conjecture; but it is possible.
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The New Testament plainly forbids both adultery and polygamy. Each man is to "have his own wife" and each woman is to "have her own husband" (1 Corinthians 7:2). The woman with a living husband who marries another "shall be called an adulteress" (Romans 7:3). And, we are promised that "fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4). If we believe that God keeps His promises, there is no way we can believe that anybody is going to get by with adultery or polygamy today.
-- Steve Klein
The economy has dominated the news lately, and the news has not been good. No need to rehash the details here -- the media has done a good enough job of that. Like everyone else, I'm not happy about it and it has already had adverse effects on me. But, knowing that "one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15), I don't plan to spend too much time stewing over it. Wall Street may be in a panic, but I'm not, and here are just a few of the reasons why.
Let me first say that I don't buy into all the doom and gloom forecasts for the economy. I do believe the economy will rebound, but let's just say for arguments' sake that things get worse, perhaps even far worse. I'm still not going to panic because I know God will provide me with the things I need - IF I seek first the kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). David said, "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Psa. 37:25).
Secondly, if I am reduced to the necessities of life, my attitude must be one of contentment, not panic. "And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" (1st Tim. 6:8). Hopefully, I will learn, as Paul did to be content "in whatever state I am" (Phil. 4:11). Perhaps I will even learn the lesson so eloquently expressed by the prophet Habakkuk: "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17-18).
Thirdly, economic hard times may turn out to be good for me spiritually. If I can't buy as many things, if I can't go as many places, I may just give more attention to the things that matter most. Many of us have seen our stocks decline in value but there are other riches that are not subject to the ebb and flow of the market - the "exceeding riches of His grace" (Ephesians 2:7), or the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). In other words, I'm not going to panic if I become poor, because I will still be rich (Proverbs 13:7). I'm very aware of what the Bible says about the uncertainty of material riches (1st Tim. 6:17; Proverbs 23:5), but it's hard to think that way when my investments seem secure. Believe me, I understand now just how insecure they can be, and maybe, just maybe, that will cause me to put more trust in God.
'"Trust in Him who will not leave you, whatsoever years may bring...build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God's unchanging hand" (Hold to God's Unchanging Hand, Jennie Wilson, EL. Eiland).
-- Bryan Gibson
Via The Exhorter, September/October 2008