Friday, November 9, 2007
What Did John MacArthur Say About Polygamy?
The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr.
Question: I know that a man is supposed to have only one wife, [then] what is the reasoning by Solomon having 600 - but God still blessed the men that had more than one wife - like Abraham.
Answer: Just plain stupid! Just plain disobedient! What you have to understand is that God never blessed anybody for having more than one wife--all it did was to bring cursing.
There were other reasons why God blessed them--that wasn't one of them. When you study the Old Testament you find that out. You go all the way back to the beginning in Genesis, and it says "one man, one woman for life," and that's the way God always wanted it.
Now, I don't want to be personal, but have you sinned? [reply: "yes"] Yes, me too. Are you alive? Yes, me too. Are you blessed? Yes, me too. Get the picture? But we didn't get blessed for that--did we? Not for our sin--we got blessed in spite of it, because God is a loving, gracious God. So, we don't want to conclude that because David committed adultery with a whole bunch of women, that adulterers get blessed. We want to conclude that in spite of that, God was gracious to him, and there were periods in his life, and times in his life when he was obedient to God, and God blessed him for those times, and God was patient in the other times.
So, God's standard never, ever, changed. And if you really want to find out, you just find all the polygamists in the Old Testament and watch the pain they went through.
Everybody thinks that Abraham had it good, no he didn't--he had a very painful life. He had a disastrous life. The very fact that he went in there and had a child by Hagar and produced Ishmael--the Jewish race, ever since Abraham, has been upset that he did that, because that produced the Arabs. It's true, the Jews they don't like that he did that, and the Arabs, the children of Ishmael, have always claimed the right to the land as the sons of Abraham--that's what the conflict is all about. So, God blessed Abraham, but He didn't bless him for that.
God blessed David, but He didn't bless Him for his many wives. God blessed Solomon in parts, but when you read the Book of Ecclesiastes you get a feeling that Solomon went through some times in his life when he was anything but blessed, and that was written by a man in deep pain.
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4 comments:
In MacArthur' study Bible, he accuses Gideon of falling "deeply into the sin of polygamy."
It's funny to me how somoene who claims to stick to the WORD and only the WORD, apparently has no problem adding to it in this regard.
The BIBLE never said Gideon was in sin for having many wives, nor did the BIBLE ever say that David was in sin for his wives.
In fact, when God sent Nathan to bust David's chops for committing adultery with Bathsheba and then killing her husband Uriah, GOD took CREDIT for giving David his wives and said that if they had not been enough HE (meaning GOD) would have given him more.
If simply having more wives is sinful, that would mean that GOD was the author of David's sin.
For MacArthur to suggest such a thing seems at the very least stupid at most blasphemous.
Again, Nathan was sent to David to tell him that God had given him all that he desired (not only wives) and David still took what was not his and murdered an innocent man in order to get it.
God has given all things to us, good and bad. He's let me have things I shouldn't have as well. Doesn't mean it's all good, but he will work it out for good in the end.
Again, David was not condemned by God for not disciplining Absolom for murdering his other son Amnon. Nor did God chastise David for sitting quietly after that Amnon raped his daughter daughter without consequence. Think God approved of that? So God's silence over sin is approval of it?
David was a man after God's own heart, he was not sinless, nor were murder and adultery his only sins ever. Yet the only one God truly condemns him for is the murder of Uriah. Why could David not build the Lord's temple? Because "Of the blood on his hands." Doesn't say adultery. Does that mean that God condoned his adultery?
I think that anybody who condemns a man for having more than one wife is presuming to add to God’s Word something which God never said. God never said it was a sin to have more than one wife. David was sinning by committing adultery with Bathsheba, but he never committed adultery with any other woman that we are told of, even tho he had more than one wife. God told David that he, God, had given David his wives, and would have given him more if they had not been enough. God never encourages men to sin, much less gives something which would be a sin to receive! It seems almost blasphemous to suggest that God gave David something he would be sinning to receive!
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:13-17)
John Mccarthur is right. God does not want his children being involved in polygamy.
It is true that God did not bother too much with pious people in the OT with many wives. He began to address it in the NT through the teaching of the Holy Spirit by the Apostles though.
The fall of man destroyed many things, and God, in his work of redemption, reveals his will gradually, "line upon line; precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little" (Isa 28:10, 13). He could not reveal everything at once because of our limited ability to grasp it all (John 16:12).
But he continues to teach the Church through the Holy Spirit.
Polygamous men cannot be leaders (Elders, Deacons or Bishops) in the church (Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12). This means, polygamy was frowned upon in the early church.
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