He didn’t. God established the standard for marriage on the day He created man. God made one man and one woman. He put them together in the garden as man and wife. The Bible tells us because of God’s created design, “A man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:25) The design of marriage, one man with one woman, has not changed since creation. The Bible also tells how man sinned and soon began to operate in opposition to God’s design for marriage. As a result, we find in the Bible men like Jacob, David and Solomon who had multiple wives and concubines. This fact is often brought up in arguments to show that Christians who insist marriage is a permanent union between one man and one woman are being foolish. According to this line of arguing, the Bible does not insist on one man-one woman marriage. Does the Bible allow for a different definition of marriage? Absolutely not. Certainly there were men in the Bible who did not marry according to God’s plan and design. Those men were not always condemned in the Bible for their disobedience. The lack of direct condemnation of a person’s example does not prove God did not view that action as sin. We can find in the Bible a number of examples of disobedience that are not directly condemned. For example, in the book of Judges a man killed a woman and cut her into pieces. The Bible does not explicitly condemn that specific act of murder, so are we to assume that the Bible actually approves of murder despite it’s clear commands to the contrary? Of course not. That would be foolish. Because people in the Bible do things that are forbidden elsewhere in the Bible does not mean the Bible has changed and now God approves of their actions. Second, those who make the case that God somehow approves of polygamy because he allowed it in the Old Testament make it sound like the Old Testament is filled with polygamists. The fact is, there are very few saints in the Old Testament who were polygamists. Two very common examples are David and Solomon. God did not approve of David’s sin, nor did He excuse it. God had commanded in Deuteronomy 17:17 that the kings of Israel were not to have multiple wives. David is called a man after God’s own heart, yet we know he had several wives. David and Solomon were in clear disobedience of that command and they paid an awful price for their disobedience. Because of David’s polygamy, his family was ripped apart and he had to deal with open rebellion by one son and covert rebellion by one of his generals. Solomon’s case was even worse. Solomon’s many wives led him away from the worship of God into idolatry. One other example is the patriarch Jacob. Jacob’s multiple wives are actually a part of his punishment for deceiving his father Isaac and result in great turmoil within his family. The Bible clearly defines marriages as one man permanently joined to one woman. The Bible never approves of polygamy and shows abundant examples of the dire consequences when we fail to follow God’s design.
Category Archives: Current Events
Why does God allow bad things to happen?
When tidal waves wipe out villages and kill thousands of people. When terrorists attack and kill thousands of innocent people. When a child is diagnosed with incurable cancer. When a loved son is suddenly and tragically killed. When tragedy strikes, we often ask why? This is not a new question, nor will it stop being asked whenever some new tragedy strikes. Why does God allow bad things to happen in this world and to us? The answers offered go from one extreme to the other. Some have suggested that God can’t do anything to stop these tragedies, He feels just as bad about it as we do when these things happen. Others have taught that God uses all these things as a direct judgement on the people involved. The tidal waves wiped out those people and villages because they were so sinful. What does the Bible say about this, though? My opinion is not important, what is important is what God has said in the Bible. First, God is in complete control. 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth, thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.” God is head of all things, all events, all circumstances. Nothing happens that God has not first given the green light for it to occur. Second, this world is under a curse. Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Because of the effects of sin, the earth is under the curse of God and experiences great pain. Bad things happen as part of the general curse on sin. Lastly, God has a good purpose. That is hard to understand, especially when so many that are innocent die, but the Bible is very plain– God is good, and everything He does is for a good purpsoe. 1 John 4:8 says very simply, “God is love.” Not just that God loves, but God is love. God will never do anything that is unloving or unkind. Psalm 145:9, “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Though we don’’t know all the mind of God, we can know that all things that happen, God allows for a good reason. For those who have put their trust in Christ for salvation the Bible gives some very clear reasons for bad things. God allows these bad things to happen so that we can help others that later go through the same troubles. He allows these things so that we can be purified and made to look more like Jesus. He allows these things for our benefit, to teach us and help us be more Godly.
The Bible never promises that we will know all the reasons why bad things happen. The general answer to this question can be boiled down to a simple, I don’t know, but I do know this, God is good, God is in total control and all things that happen occur for a good reason.
Everlasting Truths 