Genesis 30:3 – Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.”
Yesterday, we started looking at how polygamy started in the days of Genesis but how it continues in new and creative ways in today’s time through culture and television and now we also see, through religion.
In religion, Islam’s founder, Muhammed had 11 wives while Arizona, where my family lives and does ministry in Arizona, has a long history of Fundamentalist Mormonism, who still practices polygamy to this day. They base their beliefs on the Old Testament where we find over two dozen polygamous believers, including Solomon who had 1000 wives and concubines but, as we’ve learned throughout Scripture, just because it’s in the Bible doesn’t mean we should follow it. It may, instead, be a warning not to act in a certain way, which explains why Judas hanging himself is not what is supposed to be done by us.
Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, had around 40 wives, the youngest of which was 14, and Brigham Young, the first president of the Mormon “Church” had 55 wives and 57 kids, with his youngest wife 15 when he was 42 years of age. In the past, cities in Arizona, where we live, like Joseph City, Maricopa, Snowflake, Winslow, and Sunset were founded as Mormon settlements where polygamy could be practiced and, even today, Centennial Park and Colorado City, Arizona are inhabited by Mormon fundamentalist polygamists.
Polygamy leads to devastating consequences like favoritism of certain wives/husbands and kids, divisions and factions, genetic disaster, displaced older wives, ruined young men, and abuse towards women and children. After the wedding comes the war and ever since Adam and Eve were brought together in the first marriage, Satan has been attacking marriage and family.
As I’ve said before, the Bible isn’t just a story about what happened but what always happens. The same plagues, pains, and perils Joseph brought upon himself in Genesis are prevalent in today’s society. Until Jesus returns for the final time in glory, humanity will continue to store up wrath for themselves as they war against God’s ultimate plan for marriage and relationships. Only if we return to God’s original plan in Genesis 2 will we truly experience marriage in the joyful, freedom-filled way God intended it.
How does this story demonstrate the great evils that occur from polygamy and adultery?
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