For years, the church has drilled the same message into our heads: “God hates polygyny.”
And for years, we’ve just accepted it—never stopping to ask, where does the Bible actually say that?
Because if you take an honest walk through Scripture, you’ll find something shocking:
It doesn’t.
In fact, not only does the Bible never condemn polygyny, but when you actually read the verses people use to argue against it, you realize…
They don’t hold up at all.
🚨 The One Flesh Argument (Genesis 2:24)
📖 "A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh."
This is the classic go-to verse for monogamy-only preachers.
❌ “See? One flesh means one wife!”
Really? Then explain Jacob, who was “one flesh” with four women at the same time.
Did his body parts get reassigned every night?
Because if one flesh means one spouse, ever, then Jacob, David, and Moses were all in violation of God’s law—and yet…
God never condemned them for it.
So either:A) God didn’t notice.B) God didn’t care.C) One flesh doesn’t mean what we’ve been told it means.
Take your pick.
🚨 The “Multiply Wives” Argument (Deuteronomy 17:17)
📖 "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away."
BOOM. Biblical proof that men should only have one wife, right?
Except… that’s not what it says.
✅ It’s talking about kings—not regular men.✅ It says multiply, not have (big difference).✅ If this verse means one wife max, then kings were also limited to one horse and one piece of gold.
So tell me—did Solomon have 700 wives but just one gold coin jingling in his pocket?
Of course not.
Fun fact: Jewish tradition actually taught that kings could have up to 18 wives—which, coincidentally, is about how many David had.
So if Deuteronomy 17:17 was a ban on polygyny, nobody—including the men God called righteous—got the memo.
🚨 The “David Stole a Wife” Argument (2 Samuel 12:8)
📖 "I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom. And if that had been too little, I would have moreover given unto thee such and such things."
Uh oh.
Did God just say… He gave David multiple wives?
And more importantly—He would have given him even more if he asked?
Now, let’s be clear: This passage is condemning David for stealing another man’s wife.
Not for having multiple.
That’s like robbing a bank and the judge saying, “I would’ve given you more money if you just asked.”
The crime wasn’t polygyny—it was theft.
🚨 The Solomon Argument (1 Kings 11:1-10)
📖 "Solomon’s wives led him to idolatry."
Yes. That’s true. But why did they lead him astray?
Was it because he had too many?
Nope.
The issue was that they were foreign women who worshipped idols.
🚨 Deuteronomy strictly forbids marrying pagan idol-worshippers.🚨 Solomon’s mistake wasn’t polygyny—it was ignoring God’s command about who to marry.
If polygyny itself was the problem, why does the passage specifically say it was their foreign status and idolatry that caused the issue?
Because Solomon could have had just one Moabite wife and still ended up in the same mess.
The problem wasn’t quantity—it was quality.
🚨 The “Jesus Spoke Against It” Argument (Matthew 19:8)
📖 "Moses only allowed divorce because of the hardness of people's hearts."
This verse is about divorce—not polygyny.
Jesus was saying marriage should be permanent, not issuing a secret anti-polygyny statement.
And if polygyny was such a grave sin, why didn’t Jesus or Paul ever say so?
In fact, the only time Paul talks about marriage restrictions is in 1 Timothy 4:3, where he calls forbidding marriage a doctrine of demons.
Awkward.
🚨 The “One Bride, One Church” Argument (Ephesians 5:22-29)
📖 "Christ has one bride, the church."
This one is hilarious.
Because even if we accept this argument, it falls apart fast.
1️⃣ The Greek word for "church" (ekklesia) just means assembly—it’s used in Acts 19 when people gathered to talk about Paul.
2️⃣ Revelation literally lists SEVEN churches as Christ’s brides.
Wait… seven?
So if this passage is about one man, one woman—why did Jesus just pluralize His marriage?
If He wanted to emphasize monogamy, why not just have one church?
See the problem?
🚨 The “That Was the Old Testament” Argument
📖 "Polygyny was an Old Testament thing. God tolerated it back then, but now it's different."
Cool. So let’s take that logic and apply it to church leadership.
You’re telling me all the great kings and leaders in the Bible—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David—would be disqualified from church leadership today…?
Why?
Because they had too many wives?
That’s like saying, “Hey, King David, thanks for writing half the Psalms… but you’re not fit to be a deacon in our Baptist church.”
Make it make sense.
So… Does the Bible Condemn Polygyny?
🚨 If polygyny was a sin, why did God regulate it instead of banning it?🚨 If monogamy was the only way, why did God give David multiple wives and offer him more?🚨 If polygyny was immoral, why did God allow His most righteous men—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David—to practice it?
Because here’s the truth:
📖 The Bible never condemns polygyny.❌ The only time it leads to problems is when people break OTHER laws—like stealing wives or marrying idol-worshippers.
So the real question is:
Are you going to keep repeating what you’ve been told?
Or are you actually going to open the Bible and read what it says?
Because if you do, you’ll realize…
Your pastor forgot to mention a few things.
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