Originally Posted by
Victor
The biblical teaching on marriage clearly assumes monogamy. Having created Adam, the Lord God said: it is not good for man to be alone; Let us make him a helper suitable for him (Gen. 2:18). The marriage of our first parents, according to the Creator's plan, was to become the rule for building this most important life union for all subsequent generations: Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife; and they will become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). The Savior repeated these words to the Pharisees who tempted Him (Matthew 19:3-6).
Lamech was the first to violate the Divine decree on marriage: And Lamech took for himself two wives (Gen. 4:19). The sacred writer portrays this closest descendant of Cain as arrogant and cruel: the wives of Lamech! listen to my words: I killed a man for my wound and a boy for my wound (Gen. 4:23). This was a clear abuse, contrary to the Divine will. Later, when the promise was given to Abraham (I will make your descendants like the sand of the earth; Gen. 13:16), polygamy was often encountered in Old Testament history, but this is only God’s permission. So the elderly Sarah, heavily experiencing her infertility, said to Abraham: behold, the Lord has shut up my womb so that I will not give birth; Go in to my maid; perhaps I will have children by her. Abram obeyed Sarah's words (Gen. 16:2). Patriarch Jacob gave birth to twelve sons from two wives and two maidservants. This story is known in detail. For seven years Jacob worked for his uncle Laban to marry his beloved Rachel. He did not think about any polygamy, but wanted to fulfill the instructions of his father Isaac: get up, go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother (Gen. 28:2) . But Laban deceived him and gave him Leah instead of Rachel, which he found out about in the morning. As for the maid Bilhah, who gave birth to Dan and Naphtali, this was the desire of Rachel, who grieved greatly because of her barrenness: behold my maid Bilhah; come in to her; let her bear on my knees, that I also may have children by her (Gen. 30:3). Likewise, Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher at the request of Leah, when she stopped giving birth (Gen. 29:35).
We cannot ignore the fact that this struggle for the multiplication of offspring, both in the case of Abraham and in the history of Jacob, which led to a retreat from monogamy, was paid at a great price - disruption of peace and disorder in families. After the birth of Ishmael, Hagar began to despise her mistress (Gen. 16:4). Sarah kicked her out, and she almost died in the desert with her child. Envy flared up between the sisters Rachel and Leah, and rivalry began. After the birth of Naphtali, Rachel said, “I fought mightily with my sister and prevailed” (Gen. 30:8). The beginning of the 1st book of Samuel (1:1-6) tells about the mother of the great prophet Samuel, Anna. Her husband Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah, who offended Hannah: she grieved her, but this one cried and did not eat (1 Samuel 1:7)
From this it is clear that the Bible does not legitimize polygamy, but, on the contrary, it is shown that it leads to a loss of peace in relationships.
Some Jewish kings had many wives, but the Holy Scriptures do not approve of this, because it was contrary to the law. The prophet Moses speaks about the future king: so that he does not multiply wives, lest his heart be corrupted (Deut. 17:17). The Lord rebuked Solomon: because this is how you do it, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant (1 Kings 11:11). It is known that among the sins of Solomon, which the sacred writer names, was polygamy.
The Bible speaks of monogamous marriage as the only morally possible form of marriage: Blessed be thy Fountain; and take comfort in the wife of your youth (Prov. 5:18); He who finds a [good] wife has found good and received grace from the Lord (Prov. 18:23); You say: "for what?" Because the Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you acted treacherously, while she is your friend and your lawful wife (Mal. 2:14). According to biblical teaching, it is love for his only wife that can give a person earthly joys and brighten up the severity of life’s work: Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your vain life, and whom God has given you under the sun for all your vain days; because this is your portion in life and in your labors, as you labor under the sun (Eccl. 9:9).
The prophets used the image of marriage to symbolize the relationship between God and His people. They thought of only one form - monogamy: As a young man marries a virgin, so will your sons marry you; and [as] the groom rejoices over the bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isa. 62:5). Since we are talking about the election of one people and the promises given by God in relation to this people, then the husband should have only one wife - the wife of his youth.
In the Holy Gospel, the teaching on marriage is raised to a special spiritual height. The redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the Church constitutes the image and living rule that spouses must follow. Apostolic admonition to spouses about love and loyalty captured by an indication of the mystery of Christ’s love for His Church. Therefore, the joy of the final victory is called in the Apocalypse the marriage of the Lamb: Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him; For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, clean and bright; The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And [the Angel] said to me: Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9).
After the sublime gospel teaching on marriage, the admission of polygamy means a fall from a spiritual height to the everyday and physiological level. The Koran allows a husband to have four wives (4:3). This establishment shows not the Divine, but the human source of the origin of Islam. The main motive is clearly visible - sensual. Muhammad himself had more wives than the number established by him in the Koran: “He left behind him nine wives. The total number of women whom the Messenger of Allah married was thirteen: Khadija, the daughter of Khuwaylid - she was the first woman whom the Prophet married... The Messenger of Allah gave twenty young camels for her. She bore the Prophet all his children except Ibrahim... The Prophet married Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq in Mecca when she was seven years old. And he began to live with her in Medina when she was nine or ten years old. Aisha was the only virgin whom the Prophet married..." (Ibn Hisham. Lives of the Prophet Muhammad. Chapter. Wives of the Prophet). Muhammad liked Zeinab, the wife of his adopted son Zeid. He divorced them and took her as one of his nine as his wife.
Sometimes you are surprised at how elastic human logic can be when they try to justify any imperfection. Modern defenders of Islam are trying to prove that polygamy is the best form of family to solve moral, demographic and social problems. They say that polygamy is necessary because there are far more women than men in society. This is completely false. According to demographic statistics in 2000-2002, there were women per 100 men: in the world as a whole - 98.5; in Islamic states – 97.1; in Saudi Arabia – 87.4; in Iran 95.5. In Tajikistan, according to the 2000 national census, the population was 6.1 million people. Of these, 49.7% are women, and 50.3% are men.
The statement about the moral benefits of polygamy is false. It is known that a certain measure of harmony in the relationship between two spouses is achieved through long and difficult mutual efforts. We must gradually overcome or weaken the defects that are deeply rooted in fallen human nature. In the family of a polygamous husband, this is unattainable. This family becomes a breeding ground for such passions as envy, rivalry, resentment, etc. Polygamy is only a form of legalized cohabitation, but not marriage in the high meaning that the Word of God defined this saving life union: live in love, just as Christ loved us and He gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet savour (Eph. 5:2).
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