Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament?

KIM: This is a much more difficult question than  simply that can be answered in thirty seconds   or a minute. But I think the question begins by  saying, "Why does God?" And this is where I think   the point that we have to realize is whatever we  see, whatever is happening, is really the result   of sin and the fall. This is not God ordaining  things, God preparing things, or using it. This is   the way in which sins grow and propagate, and we  see that happening in the Old and New Testament as   well. Certain sins God obviously prevents, and God  allows things to continue in some way, and we see   the clarification taking place as we especially  come into the New Testament from the Old. But in terms of how the communities and  the culture in which Scripture was founded,   there was a natural progression of sin by which  we understand not only the depth of our sin,   but ultimately the solution  that comes in Christ Jesus.   And so, whether it be polygamy or  any other sin that you see around us,   in many ways it becomes a teacher that drives  us to Christ to recognize the depth of human sin   that ultimately finds its solution in Christ  Jesus clarified for us. GODFREY: Would it be helpful to think of it analogous   to what Jesus says about divorce? Divorce was not  God's intention for marriage from the beginning,   but He regularized it and tolerated it in Moses to  a greater extent than He would in the new covenant   because of the hardness of their hearts. And I  think we could say there is something similar   in terms of God's toleration of polygamy. It  was clearly not His plan from the beginning in   the garden – it was one man and one woman – but  He tolerates offense and sin, which then with   the coming of the new covenant, He corrects  and expects us to live better and more purely   than what was tolerated in the old covenant.  So there may be an analogy similarly there.

Channel: Ligonier Ministries

Views: 21,343

Keywords: ligonier ministries, reformed, reformed theology, theology, christian, christianity, theological questions, god, the bible, askligonier, ask ligonier, Dr. Joel Kim, Joel Kim, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, W. Robert Godfrey, Dr. Robert Godfrey, polygamy, old testament, what does the bible say about marriage, marriage, Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament?, multiple wives, spouses, multiple spouses, biblical relationships, polygomy in the, polygamy in the bible

Id: 8Wpw4gbCwK4

Length: 2min 27sec (147 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 06 2021