Friday, November 9, 2007

God Portrays Himself As A Polygamist
Would God Portray Himself As A Polygamist If Polygamy Is A Sin?
It may suprise some people that God portrays Himself as a polygamist in the Bible. However, in Jeremiah 3:6-10 and 31:31-32, as well as Ezekiel 23, God does exactly that. Even though this may be simply an analogy, it seems illogical that God would portray Himself as a polygamist if polygamy were somehow a sin. According to Jeremiah 3:6-10:

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: "Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot."And I said, after she had done all these things, 'Return to Me.' But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it."Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also."So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees."And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense," says the LORD(NKJV).

Again, in Ezekiel 23:1-4, God portrays himself as a polygamist, married to two sisters, Jerusalem and Samaria, who commit adultery against him:

The word of the LORD came again to me, saying: "Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. They committed harlotry in Egypt, they committed harlotry in their youth; their breasts were there embraced, their virgin bosom was there pressed. Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters" (NKJV).

Jesus also describes himself as a polygamist:

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ...While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; ...And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage:" (Matthew 25:1-2,5-6c,10a-c. Also see verses 1-13).
Although this is only a parable, would Jesus describe Himself as a polygamist if polygamy was a sin? Therefore, if polygamy really is a sin, as many claim, then certainly God, who cannot sin, would never portray Himself as a polygamist; even if it is just an analogy.