Q & A Session
Notes
Transcript
Why was polygamy allowed in the Old Testament? If it was never truly "allowed" why was David a man after God's own heart?
Why was polygamy allowed in the Old Testament? If it was never truly "allowed" why was David a man after God's own heart?
Polygamy Background
Polygamy Background
Perfectly normal for the Jews
Many Jewish heroes had multiple wives
Abraham, Jacob, David, Gideon possibly Moses (Zipporah and the Cushite woman)
We know it was practiced in the days of Jesus in Palestine
Family record of a wealthy widow marrying a married man
Jews didn’t outlaw it until 11th century, though it was rare
Never prohibited - only controlled
Cannot neglect old wives
10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
Cannot take sisters as wives
18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.
Cannot neglect the children of an unloved wife
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
In one case it is commanded!
5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
We never have a positive account of polygamy
Both Leviticus 18:18 and Deuteronomy 21:15-17 speak to Leah and Rachel’s situation
Men often think of having multiple women as a sign of power and authority
It does nothing but make his women miserable
They treat Jacob like a prostitute - Leah hiring Jacob with Mandrakes
Solomon is the classic example of polygamy overthrowing men
So Why Was It Allowed?
So Why Was It Allowed?
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jesus points to the beginning as God’s design for marriage
The beginning was very good
Man being with one woman, and no one else, is very good
The two, not the three, become one flesh
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
There was a heart problem with Israel
We’ve been discussing this Wednesday nights - Israel had not yet been given the heart to obey
God was working with what he had
He always had the intention of one man and one woman
How Can David Be a Man After God’s Own Heart?
How Can David Be a Man After God’s Own Heart?
He was also a man after God’s own heart after adultery and murder with Uriah and his wife
God loves you in and wants to have a relationship with you despite your sins
However, that’s not what this phrase means
Saul was not a man after God’s own heart
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
David followed God’s heart
2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
8 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”
1 After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.”
When tempted to kill Saul
10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
Why was Jacob chosen to carry on the promise if he was such a crummy person?
Why was Jacob chosen to carry on the promise if he was such a crummy person?
Was Jacob such a crummy person?
He dupes his dumb brother into selling his birthright for a bowl of soup
He and his mom dupe dad into getting the blessings
He’s conditional with God “I’ll serve you if you bless me”
He’s a horrible husband and father playing favorites
Doesn’t seem to react much when his daughter is raped
Might have worshipped idols (Gen 35:2)
Surely there could have been someone better to carry on the promise!
God has a tendency to work out his promises through lots of crummy people
Abraham gives his wife away twice
Israel as a whole is awful towards God
Many of the judges have dubious morals (Samson)
Peter’s a coward
Paul’s a murderer
And then throw yourself in there somewhere
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
So maybe there wasn’t anyone better.
Maybe God worked through all of these awful people to show how great he is
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Paul is talking about Christians here!
God’s working with what he has
that just makes him more impressive
McGyver example
Working through us God brings about his grand design
Please explain 1 Peter 1:18. Specifically “futile ways,” “inherited,” and “forefathers.”
Please explain 1 Peter 1:18. Specifically “futile ways,” “inherited,” and “forefathers.”
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
Breaking down the Greek
Futile - worthless. Translation of vanity in the LXX
Ways - your way of life
Inherited from your forefathers - single Greek word! The things you learned from those from before
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
18 You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold;
In context the ways of life we learned from those before were futile/meaningless because:
They had no hope
They were awful ways of living life
No hope - context
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Futile is what the Greek translators of Ecclesiastes used - Vanity!
They’re futile because they don’t lead you anywhere but the grave
If you:
Are a fool or become very wise
Are poor or have all the money in the world
If you are evil or if you are good
If you have fun or are miserable
It all ends the same
A worse way to live life
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
Children of God who take after our Father
Former ways are called ignorant - lacking knowledge of who God is
Our conduct is holy as God himself is holy
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
Malice: anti-social behavior and vices
Deceit and hypocrisy: conning people into believing you have virtues
Envy: hating that other people are doing well for themselves, taking your toys home
Tree of life example
He’s a tyrant in his family and you never know when he’ll snap
He’s going to church but only because he thinks he’ll be rewarded by God and so he can network
Always looking at what other people have
He wants to be his own boss - a self-made man - who can’t get his lawn to grow while God is watering the whole earth
God is pouring out life and goodness, and we grab a water hose “I can do it myself!”
In short:
Life before God didn’t get you anything, and most people don’t even know better
Life after redemption saves us from the lives that everyone else lives around us bumbling around in vanity
