The essay I present to our readers today comes with one of the strongest messages of warning to polygamist men and prospective polygamist men I have yet given. I deal with an aspect of polygamy that is little understood and barely addressed. And that is what Yahweh-Elohim does to those living polygamy who wilfully sin against Him, for their punishment is terrible indeed.
As we all know, a person abusing a high public office suffers a far worse fate than those who have none and a low profile even though the sin committed by both is the same. The President of a country like the United States, for example, who commits adultery, has a far brighter spotlight shone on him than your average citizen because as the nation's leader he is supposed to set a moral example. The higher you are, the greater the potential fall, as we know from the story of the Archangel Heylel (Lucifer/Satan) who fell from the second highest rank in the universe to that of the lowest scum of the underworld.
In my many articles on this site I have tried to articulate a painfully difficult reality that most of the first generation of Christian/Messianic polygamists don't want to know about, namely, that to sin as a polygamist brings punishment from Yahweh orders of magnitude greater than to sin as a monogamist. Further, that the more wives you have, the greater the punishment is proportionally. This, I know, will surprise many of you, yet it is a sober truth.
To illustrate what I am talking about, I am going to put a magnifying glass over the lives of David and Solomon, Israel's two greatest kings who were also polygamists.
Before we start, it is as well to remember - and this is the only case where Yahweh actually says this with His own voice - that when David was given plural wives, it was with Yahweh's consent and favour. This we all know - and rejoice over. But did you know that when a patriarch VIOLATES HIS MARRIAGE COVENANT that polygamy ceases being a blessing to him but actually becomes a cursing to him? Did you know that when a polygamist man has broken his wedding vows that he is no longer a polygamist in Yahweh's eyes?? If you want to know why many former polygamist men are nor monogamists or single, this is a reason why.
Not only is this a spiritual principle of the Gospel that most people are unacquainted with, but it is a principle that most people don't want to know. And yet it is not without precident as I shall illustrate.
The holiest ordinance in the Christian/Messianic faith is that of the Lord's Supper. (Also see Sacred Polygamy and the Mystery of the Lord's Supper). As believers we are all commanded to partake of it as a memorial of the death of the Lord Yah'shua (Jesus), and we are to continue doing so at the very least every Passover and more regularly if possible. We know from what Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself has said about this Sacred Memorial that those who do this will be richly blessed. However, if we partake of this ordinance unworthily, a heavy curse falls upon the person so doing, for he "eateth and drinketh damnation to himself" (1 Corinthians 11:29, KJV). What was a sacrament of blessing thereafter becomes a sacrament of cursing and of damnation.
Marriage is one of the Church's (Messianic Community's) holy sacraments. It is so holy, in fact, that in the beginning Yahweh pronounced the death sentence on anyone who violated it. Adultery in His eyes is one of the most heineous crimes imaginable. So if committing adultery with one wife is so terrible, what do you imagine happens if a man commits adultery whilst married to several wives?
When David and Solomon walked in the righteousness of Yahweh, He blessed them in every way, which included their wives. But when they departed from Torah, they were no longer worthy of these good women. You see, Yahweh framed polygamous marriage, first, within the Melchizedek Law of the Patriarchs, and then, in the Levitical Law of those under the Covenant of Moses. The blessings and protection promised polygamous men and their famlies is contingent upon their faithfulness to the statutes of the Law in which these were embedded. All marriage covenants are framed within the Law of Yahweh as a whole. Remove any part of that Torah (Law) and His blessings and protection are removed. What we are going to see is that when any man removes Himself from the covering of Yahweh's Torah by departing from any aspect of it, then the principle of polygamous marriage becomes an actual cursing to him. Under these conditions he is living a principle which he is not entitled to.
The thesis of this article is that polygamy is a great blessing to the men and women involved when it is being lived by righteous men, but a cursing to the unrighteous patriarch and his wives.
A. King David
The life of David can be divided into two parts:
- (1) His rise from the lowly shepherd boy to his kingship over Israel; and
- (2) His subsequent great fall.
No young man ever achieved such fame and honour with Yahweh as did David; nor did any man show his suffering and mourning over his sins as did David. In battle, on the throne, and in his home, he was blessed by Yahweh, who protected him and even spoke to him. Yet he later sinned so grievously that his only consolation was that Yahweh would "not leave my soul in hell" (Psalm 16:10).
It must be clearly understood at what point in David's life he transgressed Yahweh's Torah or Law. Was it because he was polygamous, as the antipolygamists claim? Or was it because he committed adultery with another man's wife and then murdered the husband? We really ought not need to ask such a question because it is so plain, yet you would be surprised by the willfull blindness of the monogamy-only camp in this matter in its bid for self-justification even if it is at the cost of the reputation of great men and indeed Yahweh Himself.
The indiscretion that led to a chain of evil
As I have intimated above, the better, the more powerful and more glorious something may be, the more damaging, disastrous or damning it can become when abused. For instance, a fire may give warmth to a house or it can be the agant of destruction in burning it down. Atomic energy can light up a whole city or it can destroy it in a single thermonuclear blast. And precisely the same is true of polygamous marriage: it can either exalt a man and his wives by bringing them into the highest spiritual heavenlies and communion with the Most High, or it can become the means to condemn and damn him if he abuses, like Lucifer, his high and holy calling as a living model of the ideal of Church (Messianic Community) life.
David lived both honourably and dishonourably. He lived polygamy in righteousness and later in unrighteousness. When he first entered into the marriage estate with plural wives, he was blessed; but when he became a wicked man, he was cursed. Yahweh said that David was "a man after Yahweh's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) but when he lusted after Uriah's wife, he no longer lived after that Divine Heart. When he was living a righteous life, Yahweh said to him:
"I gave your master's [Saul's] house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more" (2 Samuel 12:8, NIV).
It is very important to note that Yahweh is giving plural wives to a man who is a polygamist already, and He says He is willing to give more! Surely, someone might argue, Yahweh could have given those woman to some poor souls who didn't have a wife - especially if, as the anti-polygamists insist, He considered polygamy to be 'evil' and 'perverse'. In fact, the anti-polygamist, without perhaps realising it, IS ACCUSING ELOHIM (GOD) OF BEING EVIL AND PERVERSE. Woe unto them when they say these things for they are cursing Almighty Elohim (God) with their own lips and defiled hearts. This episode is a very good example of how Yahweh wants good and honourable men to have wives rather than those who are unworthy of them. When David turned from Yahweh, as Saul did, what happened? Elohim (God) took away his wives from him as well.
If the Christian/Messianic reading these facts is puzzled and confused in his heart it is only because he does not understand the heart and mind of Yahweh. Indeed, He does not understand the heart and mind of Christ either (who is Elohim-incarnate) because the Saviour taught exactly the same principle in His Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14ff.).
Now I don't know what your experience is but I have met many people who thought Yahweh was unfair when He gave the talent of the faithless steward (who buried his talent into the ground and did nothing with it) to the man who had the most talents. They immediately assume that Yahweh is unfair for giving it to the steward with the most. But they are spiritually blind when they read this parable. They are thinking only in terms of money and the world capitalist system. These talents are about LIVING PRINCIPLES, specifically about our giftedness. And the divine mandate given to man is to multiply the love of Christ through the universe by using the gifts which Yahweh has given him.
A woman is a gift - she is also described as a man's "crown" - not an ornament but that which makes him glorious because she herself is glorious. And what is the greatest gift that Yahweh has given man? Salvation in Christ and the gift of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) (Acts 2:38; 10:45; Hebrews 6:4). And those of you who have studied the theology of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and know about Her gender will immediately grasp what I am leading to.
The Parable of the Talents is applicable on many levels of truth, and no less so than on that which examines plural marriage. Let us substitute "talents" for "wives" and get a deep insight into the Law of Marriage which Yahweh has ordained ...
"And to one he gave five [wives], to another two [wives], and to another one [wife], to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey" (Matthew 25:14-15, NKJV).
As patriarchs we are given the number of women we are able to handle "according to [our] own ability". What qualifies us to be polygamists is whether or not we have received the gifting and sanctification to bless and exalt them, not ourselves. The man with 5 talents doubled them to 10, the one with 2 doubled them to 4, and the one with 1 ... did nothing at all.
What this parable is saying, for those who dare to hear it (and I know some people are going to scream 'murder!' hearing this) is that in monogamy there is a strong tendency on the part of the husband not to do any kind of investing in his wife but to regard her as a mere domestic ornament. Most monogamists 'bury their wives underground' by taking them for granted, living in FEAR of what they will say or do if they try to live in the ways of Yahweh:
"Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground" (Matthew 25:24-25, NKJV).
Fear is what principally paralyses monogamous marriage - fear of the Jezebelic spirit of reprisal and revenge. This spirit is dealt a fatal blow in polygamous marriage and releases the husband to fulfil his stewardship. And what this parable (on one level of understanding) is telling us is that a man is more likely to be a successful steward, and more likely to bless and exalt his wives with the crown of joy, with many wives than with just one. Accordingly, the talent of the man who buried it was given to the man who had MOST talents! Why? Because one who has so exalted his wives is more capable of blessing a woman than one who has fewer and is living according to the Law of Multiplication.
This morning I took a ripened poppey head and shook out the seeds - there must have been about a thousand little seeds which that single plant had manufactured. Yahweh loves fruitfulness - fruitfulness in loving, fruitfulness in building polygamous families, fruitfulness in good works, because it is the DRIVING PRINCIPLE in His nature. And that is why polygamy is unmistakedly HIS principle.
Yahweh wanted to give David more and more wives in order to bless these women, not to fill up his bed! That is why He gave wicked King Saul's wives to David in order to bless those women who were under a curse because of their wicked polygamous husband. And that is why, ultimately, Yahweh took David's wives from him too, because a wicked man cannot exalt so much as a single woman. It is also the reason Yahweh killed Nabal and gave his wife Abigail to David (1 Samuel 25).
When the prophet Nathan came up to David with the story of the shepherd with many sheep who slew a shepherd and took his only lamb, David was furious and said the man should be condemned to death. Nathan then said that he (David) was the man. David confessed: "I have sinned against Yahweh". Nathan the prophet then pronounced a curse upon David and his household -- and for what? Certainly not for polygamy! He quoted Yahweh Himself:
"Why have you despised the commandment of Yahweh, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife'" (2 Samuel 12:8-10, NKJV)
The murder of Uriah the Hittite, husband of Bathsheba
But there was much worse:
""Thus says Yahweh: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun'" (2 Samuel 12:11-12, NKJV)
Suddenly, David became unworthy of his wives, bringing calamity upon them. Polygamy was not the issue - it was David's sin in his dealings with Bathsheba and Uriah.
When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah, it was at that moment that the sword of vengeance came upon David. His illegitimate son died; his daughter was raped by a half-brother; his eldest son Amnon was murdered; a rebellion took place against him by his son, and Absalom was killed, who defiled many of his wives. Both the sword and sorrow continued to plague the house of David. And why? Because of his sin against the house of Uriah. In breaking the commandments he gave Satan legal grounds to harrass and plague him for the rest of his life.
Nathan the prophet was the man who announced that Yahweh had given David his plural wives because at that time he was a righteous man, and it was Nathan who later came and announced that Yahweh would come and take them away when David sinned. This should have been enough for David to learn his lesson, but he continued to multiply wives to himself, right up to the last day of his life when he took Abishag. There remains a very real question as to whether these women were given to Him by Yahweh or not, but by his own choosing and the efforts of others (cp. 1 Kings 1:1-3). Yahweh saw nothing wrong with David's having many wives while he was a righteous man, but when he became an adulterer and murderer, then he was condemned in the sight of all Israel. (See The Seven Wives of David).
It is therefore perfectly clear that it is an abomination for a wicked man to live plural marriage, and King David was no exception. As a murderer and an adulterer, he had no right to take any more wives, otherwise why would Yahweh have taken away those he already had? During the time that he was an innocent man and was living polygamy (before the Bathsheba incident), Yahweh had said to him:
"I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth" (2 Samuel 7:9, NKJV).
But after David had committed adultery and murder, Yahweh said:
"Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house ... Thus says Yahweh: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house..." (2 Samuel 2:10-11, NKJV)
And because of David's sins, Yahweh caused a pestilence to come upon Israel resulting in the death of 70,000 men:
"Then David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, 'Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly ...'" (2 Samuel 24:17, NKJV)
Yahweh never let David forget the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah; and from then on, David suffered hell in all its forms.
Can we now see what Yahweh calls so few into polygamy? Is it not plain why the majority of men are called to live only monogamy? The reason is because of His love for the women whom He does not want to see cursed because if the wickedness of bad men. Yahweh is bound by immutable law to punish sinners who willfully disobey Him.
Let none suppose, however, that because we are now under the Covenant of Grace that we may become more lax in these matters. Yes, we are under grace, where mercy leads to forgiveness when there has been a full and complete repentance and where the sin is not repeated again, but in no way has Yahweh's moral Law even been remotely relaxed so that major crimes against men and Elohim (God) are suddenly of little significance. David ought to have been executed but was spared because of the protection given by monarchical power, and because Yahweh had a hidden purpose in preserving his life. Let no-one think that Christ came to relax the Law - far from it, He came to tighten it up:
""Do not think that I came to destroy the Law (Torah) or the Prophets (Nevi'im). I did not come to destroy but to fulfill [bring to completion]. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law (Torah) till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes (Torah-teachers) and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven"" (Matthew 5:17-20, NKJV)
I have seen modern polygamous families disintegrate because of unrighteousness. I know of one man who was physically abusive and Yahweh took away all his wives but one. It is a common pattern. You see, Yahweh will not be mocked. Those who live this lifestyle are supposed to be LIVING MODELS of the union between Christ and His Church (Messianic Community). And if you are not, then He will not have His image smeared. It's as simple as that. For a polygamous marriage is first and foremost supposed to be a window for other Christians/Messianics to help them understand just how the Gospel is supposed to be lived. It is supposed to lead those who observe it to Christ and to salvation.
I must add a footnote to this terrible story of David. The taking away of the wives of a man who has sinned grievously cannot be done by man but only by Yahweh. I mention this because in the early Mormon Church it was common practice for Mormon leaders to take away other men's wives if they thought those men had sinned. It is NOT for man to break up any marriage - Yah forbid! - no matter who may claim that privilege whilst bearing a revelation from Yahweh: "Therefore what Elohim (God) has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:6, NKJV). The fundamentalist (polygamous) Mormons sometimes twist these scriptures about David and Nathan by saying that NATHAN THE PROPHET 'took' David's wives and 'gave' them to his neighbour. This is NOT what the scriptures say - Nathan did not have that sort of authority, which is an invention of the Mormon Church per pro the claims of their false legalistic Priesthood system. Nathan was merely the relayer of a message from heaven. Yahweh took care of the rest Himself.
But the Mormons are not the only ones guilty of this sin. I know of one leader in the Christian polygamy movement who actively encourged the wife of another polygamist patriarch to leave him because he had disagreements with the latter. This is adultery! Yahweh took that leaders' wives away from him, leaving him with only one, for his wickedness. No man has the right to 'play God' in other people's marriages. (See the exposé, How to Identify and Escape from a 'Christian' Polygamy Cult).
B. King Solomon
Solomon, the son of David, lived in luxury all his life. He never knew hunger, poverty and war as so many of the Israelites had experienced. He was raised with the best education, in the shadow of his father's fame and fortune - the most peaceable and wealthy period of Israel's history.
He followed in the footsteps of his father and rose to the kingly throne over Israel. He ruled in righteousness -- so well, in fact, that Yahweh spoke to him, guided his life and even appeared to him twice. Solomon so pleased Yahweh that he was blessed with wisdom, riches and honour above all other men. He had everything that any man could want or desire.
Solomon's desire was to make Israel a holy nation with a royal priesthood and build a temple of Yahweh. Under his wise counsel, the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem began to prosper and receive blessings that it had never known before:
"For the first time the nation had a permanent national worship centre, in the capital city. The presence of the Temple was to dominate the religious life and thinking of the Israelites until its destruction in 587-6 B.C. Even then it did not fade out; the structure was rebuilt and later throughly remodeled until again destroyed in A.D.
"The influence of the priests became more powerful and the festivals became regularised. The presence of the Temple enhanced the city of Jerusalem itself so that it became known as the City of Elohim (God). The teaching function of the priests helped to disseminate the ancient truths revealed by Elohim (God) more widely in Israel. The Temple became a powerful unifying force"
(Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 5:477-78).
While Solomon reigned as king, he was blessed in both temporal and spiritual things until it was looked upon as a 'golden age' for Israel. He acquired more land, ratified peace treaties with many nations, and acquired fabulous wealth.
It was during this rise to fame and fortune that Solomon also acquired several wives. Some of them were surities for treaties that he signed with the rulers of other nations. One of these wives, an Amonitess, was to become the mother of Rehoboam, Solomon's successor. This kind of marriage arrangement in Israel was not uncommon both before and after Solomon's time, nor did Yahweh condemn Solomon or any other king of Israel for condoning it. However, there were specific restrictions, both as to particular nations and races, which Solomon initially respected; so Yahweh continued to bless him and the Israelites.
The Temple was a project in which Yahweh seem particularly interested -- so much so that he gave specific instructions on how it should be built. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the temple; and at the conclusion of the temple's construction, Yahweh indicated His acceptance of both Solomon and the temple by making His presence known there by a special cloud. We read in 1 Kings 8:42-43 that the temple would also be used to attract and convert the people of many nations to the true Elohim (God) of Israel. Strange, isn't it, that Yahweh would allow the chief architect and builder of such a significant structure to be a polygamist! Especially since he was to act as a representative and example to the people of many other nations!
As further evidence of Yahweh's pleasure with this polygamist, Solomon, and all that he was doing, "Yahweh appeared to Solomon the second time" (1 Kings 9:2, KJV) [after the temple was finished], and told him how He would continue to bless him and the house of Israel. {The house of Israel, remember, consists of the descendants of Jacob, the polygamist with four wives}.
The leaders of many nations did come to "hear [Solomon's] wisdom, which Elohim (God) had put in his heart" (1 Ki.10:24). Even the Queen of Sheba felt weak at the sight of the temple and the influence of Solomon, and she left him huge amounts of rare spices, jewels and 120 talents (1,224 pounds) of gold.
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
The temple in Jerusalem, with Solomon as overseer, became the 'show and tell' mecca for the whole house of Israel. Nations came in awe and new respect for Yahweh's dealings with His chosen people and to learn of Him and His ways.
In all of these things, Yahweh seemed satisfied with His servant, Solomon. However, there came a time in which Solomon, like his father, displeased Yahweh. It was regarding his dealings and intermarriage with other nations -- the very thing that Yahweh had warned him about.
There were certain nations that Yahweh had put restrictions upon regarding Israel. All other nations were allowed to come and visit, become converted to the House of Israel, and to live and marry among the Israelites. But it was with these forbidden nations that Solomon lost his judgment and reason -- making both political and religious alliances. He even took their women as wives. Thus, Yahweh warned Solomon:
"King Solomon, however, loved many foreign (pagan) women besides Pharaoh's daughter - Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which Yahweh had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their elohim (gods)'" (1 Kings 11:1-2, NIV)
It was the influence of these women, not the others, that "turned away his heart". It was when he built altars to these strange gods of Chemosh, Ashtoreth, and Molech to satisfy the desires of these "strange" wives or concubines, that Solomon did that which Yahweh had forbidden.
"And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their elohim (gods). So Yahweh became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from Yahweh-Elohim of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other elohim (gods); but he did not keep what Yahweh had commanded" (1 Kings 11:7-10, NKJV).
So Yahweh told Solomon that he would take his kingdom away from him and give it to another -- Rehoboam, another polygamist! If Solomon's great sins was polygamy, surely Yahweh wouldn't take away his kingdom and then give it to another polygamist!
But Solomon, with all that wisdom, lost it when he took to wife those women who were from forbidden nations and allowed them to desecrate the Temple of Yahweh. It was these particular women, not the others, who were unconverted and subverted the temple with idols, false images, and wicked practices. Solomon allowed the House of Yahweh to become a house of heathens. He was no longer the wisest man in the world -- he didn't even use common sense! Consider some of the follies that Solomon tolerated from some of the forbidden women:
"Of the numerous deities to which his foreign wives turned his heart, perhaps the best known of the ancient world was Ashtoreth, called "the abomination of the Sidonians" (1 Kings 11:5,33), since her cult was early established among the Phoenicians. This fertility goddess, known as Astarte among the Greeks and as Ishtar in Babylonia, was the protagonist of sexual love and war in Babylonia and Assyria. Her degraded moral character is revealed by the Ugaritic literature from Ras Shamra. She is pictured on a seal found at Bethel where her name is given in hieroglyphic characters. Solomon thus courted disaster by this means" (Unger's Bible Dictionary, p.103).
"Foreign marriages brought foreign religions, and the kind compromised the convictions which he had expressed in his dedicatory prayer for the temple (1 Kings 8:23,27) by engaging in syncretistic worship to placate his wives. This violent breach of Israel's covenant could not go unpunished" (Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3:1472).
So Solomon apostatised from the Elohim (God) of his fathers by introducing the heathen gods of wicked nations and accepting their practices. It was for this reason that his polygamy became accursed.
Solomon the Wise who became Solomon the Fool
Both David and Solomon broke the commandments and statutes of Yahweh, changed the ordinances and ceremonies of the House of Yahweh, and broke the covenant, for which they suffered the punishments of Yahweh. Their sins brought death, sorrow and captivity to their houses and the whole nation of Israel. As apostates, they received the curses of Yahweh while they lived and even Yahweh's judgments have followed them beyond the grave. As Yahweh said, "David's wives and concubines were given unto him of Me", but he committed such heineous sins that they were taken away from him (2 Samuel 12:8,11).
Thus David and Solomon did an abominable thing -- David became an adulterer and murderer, while his son Solomon transformed the temple of the Elohim (God) of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob into a house of strange gods for heathens. No longer were they worthy of a polygamous marriage covenant with several women -- hence their abomination in continuing to take more plural wives, Solomon going even further by marrying 1,000 women, thus multiplying wives to an absurd and illegal number (Deuteronomy 17:17).
C. Conclusion
In the light of these historical examples, today's Christian/Messianic patriarch should take heed. Though there are no racial bans in the New Covenant, there is most definitely a ban against marrying unbelievers:
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of Elohim (God) with idols? For you are the temple of the living Elohim (God). As Elohim (God) has said: 'I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their Elohim (God), And they shall be My people.' Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says Yahweh. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says Yahweh Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, NKJV).
And a patriarch must obtain more than an oral confession of belief - indeed, any woman he marries must be walking in the commandments of Yahweh! A nominal 'Christian' or 'Messianic' is not enough. If he does these things, marrying an unbeliever, he will go the way of Solomon and lose everything. And do not use the excuse, 'Oh, she may convert later!' That is still disobedience:
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of Elohim (God) comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them" (Ephesians 5:5-7, NKJV).
If ever a principle exposed 'cheap grace' Christianity, polygamy does, for you will soon feel the wrath of Yahweh if you attempt to apply it. To mess around with polygamy unrighteously is to play with fire.
As for the equally serious sins of David, nothing more needs to be said. Anyone who might commit adultery - who is weak in the flesh - should never be in polygamy in the first place. There is no room for Cassanovas or Don Juans in Christian/Messianic polygamy - none whatsoever.
Acknowledgements
[1] Ogden Kraut, The Polygamy of David and Solomon: From Triumph to Tragedy - A Response to the 'Grand Delusion', December 1986.
Author: SBSK
