Concubines? Aren't they those little rodents with all the big needles on them? Ouch!! :ROFL: Actually I had a concubine once. It ran off with the cat!! :ROFL::ROFL:
But seriously. I have always wondered about this too. Wouldn't this have been adultery? Yet it seems to be ok with God. I don't recall any cases where He spoke out against it. Did he? David had concubines and the only time adultery came up for him was with Bathsheba.
Why do we have concubines today? Really? We can have concubines??
Some Bible commentators have suggested that the Lord allowed men to have more than one wife or several concubines during the period from the Great Flood until the Old Covenant in order to build up the world's population (which had obviously been decimated by the Flood), but from the time of Moses receiving the legal package on Mount Sinai, concubinage was banned. But this is totally incorrect for two reasons:
�Firstly, we should not forget that the Old Covenant was given to Israel alone!
�Secondly, the Old Covenant did make provision for a man having more than one wife. Please note Deuteronomy 21:15-17 !!
But regarding the Christian life, the New Testament issues repeated warnings about the need to avoid sexual immorality and about the need for Christians to manifest good upright moral behaviour and today it would therefore be entirely wrong for a Christian man to be involved in a plural marriage: Matthew 15:19-20; Acts 15:29; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; 6:9-11,13,18-20; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3-7; Colossians 3:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Jude 7; Revelation 2:14,20-21; 9:21.
It makes sense that Paul would teach against plural marriages. There must have been lots of it going on around him and it may have been seen by the Greek society as immoral behavior. But what if it was common behavior in a society and not looked upon as immoral but acceptable, just as it was in the OT. Then would Paul have preached against it?
I read with eager anticipation your detailed answer only to be gravely disappointed in the end. Upon on referencing EVERY single scripture you provided I found that not ONE of them pertain to the topic!
Perhaps the scripture where it was banded might be helpful ; don't ya think?
The simple fact that the patriarchs had multiple wives or concubines does not mean that the Bible taught that it was ok. God calls David a man after his own heart, but David conspired to murder Uriah. Does that mean that conspiracy to murder is ok?
@ncwestie � the Deuteronomy scripture you quote doesn�t necessarily allow for multiple wives, it simply deals with how to properly handle inheritance amongst the first born sons of two different wives. At most it acknowledges the responsibility towards your children, even if they come about through immoral means.
Also, you must remember that the Hebrew scriptures presents morals from an anecdotal point of view, and the Greek text presents moral from a logical argument point of view. Or to put it another way, Hebrew scriptures teach morals by telling a story, and allowing you to see the moral consequences of those choices, while the Greeks present them from a point by point argument.
If you look at the lives of the patriarchs and how the families born of the multiple wives, all of those families ended up in brokenness and war. Many of the people that the Israelites struggled against, such as the Moabites, were children born to the multiple wives that Abraham had after Sarah died. For me, this is the most difficult part of the old testament because the moral consequences for ones actions are not always immediately evident. Sometimes you have to wait several generations before you see that what they did was wrong.
Our Constitution gives us Freedom of Religion but not Freedom to Act! Example: Mormons doctrine when excercisd with many wives is unconstitutional when preformed!
It's the same as same sex marriages!
New covenant words (sexual immorality) can mean many more things to include polygamy!
By having a wife like below, why would any man even think about having more than 1 wife!:bouncy::applause:
Proverbs 31:10-31
The portrait of the virtuous wife. We end the book of Proverbs with the most impressive literary performance of all. The genre of the portrait of the virtuous wife is the *encomium�a poem praising a general character type (as here) or an abstract quality like love or faith. To heighten the effect, the author composed an *acrostic poem in which the successive verses begin with the consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The opening verse introduces the subject (�an excellent wife�) and asserts its supreme value, thereby introducing the superiority motif (using the technique of comparison) that is standard in encomia. What follows is a catalog of the praiseworthy acts and qualities of the virtuous wife, arranged as an ever-widening context of activity: relation to husband (vv. 11�12); the domestic sphere, with emphasis of providing for the physical needs of the household (vv. 13�19); and the social and economic life of the community (vv. 20�26). Then, because the subject of the poem is a women in her role of wife, the catalog ends by returning to the sphere of the family (vv. 27�29). But verse 30 raises the pitch even higher, moving from the domestic to the realm. The reward motif is important in encomia, and here it takes the form of a concluding wish that the virtuous wife receive what she deserves for her excellence (v. 31).
10 1 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself 2 with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
8 "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.
Even this one may sound like it is a straight forward point, but in reality it is more anecdotal than logical. If this were Greek, it would state the point being made in the Hebrew, that the owner of a house is responsible for the personal security of the people in his house. That he needs to make sure he is not negligent in the safety of his home.
Though YHWH winked at the concubine situation,He did use the concubines to chastine the men.
The children of most of these relations have been a snare to Israel,look at the descendants of Ishmael and Esau.
The neighboring peoples around Israel are the descendants of Ishmael and Esau..
Sometimes YHWH does not remove the problem so that He might deal with the person involved..
Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
Gen 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Agape' and Charis:
St.George
Rom 8:28 And we know that GOD works together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
