Did God permit polygamy in the Bible?

Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf, Silver Spring, Maryland
christdeaf.org
Transcript from The Mustard Seed:
Why did God permit polygamy in the Bible?
That's not true. God did not permit
polygamy, but people did it anyway. People in the
Bible -- even good people -- did a lot of things of
which God did not approve.
Polygamy is the practice of marrying more
than one person at the same time. Normally it
means a man has two or more wives. This is still
done today in some Middle Eastern and tribal
cultures. Famous polygamists in the Bible were
King David, King Solomon, Esau, his twin brother
Jacob, Elkanah (Samuel's father), and we may
also name Abraham, if we count his relationship
with Sarah's servant, Hagar.
The Bible says that polygamy is the same as
adultery: "By law a married woman is joined to
her husband as long as he is living. But suppose
that married woman gets married again while her
husband is still alive. Then she is called a woman
who commits adultery. But suppose her husband
dies. Then she is free from that law. She is not
guilty of adultery even if she marries another
man." (Romans 7:2-3 NIRV) Even though
polygamy was practiced in various countries
during Bible times, the Apostle Paul said that
polygamists may not hold positions of leadership
in the church (see 1 Timothy 3:2).
What we don't find in the Bible is God's direct
rebuke of men like David for their polygamy. But
we do see in the Bible sad descriptions of
problems and bitter conflict in those polygamous
families. Sin has consequences. We also find
God's rebuke of those who practice "serial
polygamy" -- leaving one spouse to marry another
(see Malachi 2:13-16).
Jesus gave us a clear summary of God's
design for marriage when He said, “Haven’t you
read that in the beginning the Creator ‘made them
male and female’? He said, ‘That’s why a man
will leave his father and mother and be joined to
his wife. The two will become one.’ They are no
longer two, but one. So a man must not separate
what God has joined together.” (Matthew 19:4-6
NIRV; also see Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24)
Pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving your son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. Due to his sacrifice, we're able to have a relationship with you. Today, we pray that you'd help us repent and clean us any sin in my life. Make us more like Christ. We pray in Jesus's name, Amen