Sceptics love to point to Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concubines, and ask: “If polygamy was wrong, why didn’t God stop him?” It’s a fair question that deserves a biblical answer. The truth is, the Bible isn’t silent about polygamy—it speaks through creation’s design, through the wreckage left in every polygamous household, and through explicit warnings Solomon deliberately ignored.

 

GOD’S ORIGINAL BLUEPRINT

Before we can understand what went wrong, we need to see what was right. In Genesis 2:24, God establishes His design: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Notice the singular—one wife, one flesh union. This wasn’t just ancient custom; Jesus Himself pointed back to this text when asked about marriage, saying “from the beginning it was not so” when addressing departures from God’s intent (Matthew 19:4-8).

As John Calvin observed, “The law of marriage was no less binding before Moses than after Christ.” God’s design for marriage isn’t a New Testament innovation—it’s woven into creation itself. The Apostle Paul later reveals the profound reason: marriage between one man and one woman reflects the relationship between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:31-32). This isn’t arbitrary preference—it’s theological architecture. Monogamy mirrors the gospel itself.

 

WHEN THE BIBLE RECORDS SOMETHING, IT ISN’T ALWAYS ENDORSING IT

Here’s where we need to read carefully. The Bible records polygamy the same way it records murder, idolatry, and betrayal—as historical fact, not divine approval. Every single polygamous relationship in Scripture produces disaster:

• Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar: Family strife so severe that Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, creating generational conflict (Genesis 16, 21).
• Jacob, Rachel, and Leah: A rivalry so bitter the sisters use their children as weapons in their competition (Genesis 29-30).
• Elkanah, Hannah, and Peninnah: Peninnah’s constant taunting of barren Hannah creates such misery that Hannah weeps and refuses to eat (1 Samuel 1:6-7). Even in this relatively “quiet” polygamous home, cruelty festers.
• David’s household: Polygamy creates the context for rape, murder, and Absalom’s rebellion that nearly destroys the kingdom (2 Samuel 13-15).

The pattern is unmistakable. Wherever polygamy appears, chaos follows. Scripture doesn’t record even one example of a successful, harmonious polygamous household—not one. The Bible’s “silence” is actually condemnation through consequence.

 

SOLOMON: THE ULTIMATE CAUTIONARY TALE

Now we come to Solomon, and here the case becomes airtight. Solomon wasn’t operating in some grey area—he was explicitly violating God’s command. Deuteronomy 17:17 warned Israel’s future kings: “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.”

Solomon didn’t just break the command; he shattered it spectacularly. And 1 Kings 11 shows us exactly why God gave that warning: “For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God” (1 Kings 11:4). His foreign wives led him to build altars to Chemosh and Molek—detestable idols requiring child sacrifice.

The consequences were swift and severe. God declared, “I will surely tear the kingdom from you” (1 Kings 11:11). Solomon’s son Rehoboam would rule only a fractured remnant. The united kingdom of Israel ended because Solomon wouldn’t listen.

 

WHY DID GOD “ALLOW” IT?

This brings us to the real question: Why does God permit what He doesn’t approve? The answer reveals something crucial about how God works. Jesus explained that Moses permitted divorce “because of your hardness of heart, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8). God often tolerates human sin without endorsing it, working within fallen human structures while pointing us back to His original intent.

God’s sovereignty doesn’t make Him the author of sin. He allows human rebellion—even uses it within His larger purposes—but that permission never equals approval. Solomon’s catastrophic failure taught Israel costly lessons about obedience. His story warns future generations; it doesn’t provide them permission.

 

THE NEW TESTAMENT SETTLES IT

By the time we reach the New Testament, any ambiguity vanishes. Jesus restores the Genesis standard. Paul writes a church leader must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:). The apostle also describes Christian marriage in exclusively monogamous terms: “each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2).

The picture is singular, exclusive, and clear. Marriage between one man and one woman is the pattern that reflects Christ’s relationship with His bride, the Church.

 

CONCLUSION

So was God okay with Solomon’s polygamy? 1 Kings 11 answers with devastating clarity: No. Solomon disobeyed explicit commands, compromised his faith, lost his kingdom, and stands forever in Scripture as a warning of how even the wisest man can be led astray.

The Bible isn’t silent on polygamy. It speaks through Eden’s design, through the wreckage in every polygamous household, through explicit prohibitions, and through Solomon’s tragic fall. God’s design for marriage hasn’t changed: one man, one woman, reflecting the faithful, exclusive love of Christ for His Church. That’s not restrictive—it’s the path to human flourishing.

 

IS GOD REALLY OKAY WITH POLYGAMY: RELATED FAQs

Did the patriarchs sin by practicing polygamy? Yes, though they may not have fully understood God’s standard. Reformed theologian Francis Turretin argued that while the moral law against polygamy was known from creation, God temporarily tolerated it in the patriarchal age without approving it—similar to how He tolerated but didn’t endorse divorce. The consistent negative consequences in every case suggest the patriarchs were straying from God’s design, even if cultural blindness made them less culpable than later generations with clearer revelation.

• Why doesn’t the Old Testament explicitly say “thou shalt not have multiple wives”? The creation ordinance in Genesis 2:24 establishes the positive norm so clearly that explicit prohibition wasn’t necessary—it would be like needing a command that says “don’t marry three people at once.” As Calvin noted, the original design already contained the moral law. Additionally, Deuteronomy 17:17’s command that kings not “multiply wives” applies the principle to leadership, and Leviticus 18:18 forbids taking a wife’s sister as a rival wife—both texts assume monogamy as normative.
• What about Levirate marriage when a man already had a wife? Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) addressed the specific crisis of childless widows in ancient Israel’s patriarchal economy, ensuring family lines and property rights continued. Reformed scholars like Turretin distinguished between temporary civil accommodations to pressing social needs and God’s creational moral design. Notably, the law offered an “out” (the sandal ceremony) if the brother-in-law refused, and Jesus later replaced such provisions by restoring marriage to its Genesis foundation.
• How do we respond to cultures today where polygamy is practiced? Contemporary Reformed mission scholars generally counsel that new converts in polygamous marriages shouldn’t divorce existing wives (which would leave them destitute), but should take no additional wives and teach their children God’s monogamous design. This follows the principle Paul applied to slavery—transform the institution from within while clearly teaching God’s ideal. The church must hold firm on the standard while showing pastoral wisdom toward those in complex situations not of their own making.

Why was polygamy more common in the Old Testament than other sins? Ancient Near Eastern culture practiced polygamy widely, making it a deeply embedded social structure—unlike, say, murder or theft which every society recognized as wrong. Reformed scholars observe that God often worked gradually to reform cultural practices, teaching His people incrementally while holding firm on core moral principles. However, God’s creational design remained unchanged, and the negative consequences recorded in Scripture served as ongoing correction to the culture.

 

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