ONE WIFE, NO DIVORCE

Although polygamy was practiced in the Old Testament, that does not mean God authorized it. From the very beginning, God designed man and woman to become one flesh. He created only one wife for Adam—Eve [Genesis 2:23–24]. Jesus explained that it was because of the hardness of the Israelites’ hearts that practices such as taking one wife after another were allowed [Mark 10:5–9]. Lamech, the first man recorded to practice polygamy, was a descendant of Cain, whom God had cursed. Job, the oldest saint mentioned in the Old Testament and called by God “my servant,” had only one wife [Job 2:9–10]. Furthermore, God forbids a man to divorce his wife in order to marry another. Any religion or individual that practices polygamy is detestable to God and will be judged on the Last Day. The following are some of the verses in the Bible that prove God does not permit polygamy;

1. [Genesis 2:23-24] And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

2. [Deuteronomy 14:16-17] “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold“

3. [Malachi 2:15-16] “Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord Almighty. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife. 

4. [Proverbs 5:18] Let your own fountain be blessed, and enjoy the girl you married when you were young

5. [Mark 10:5-9] “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate”

6. [Mark 10:11-12] So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.

7. [Matthew 5:31-32] Furthermore it has been said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery”

8. [Matthew 19:4-6] Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

9. [1 Timothy 3:2] An overseer then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach 

10. [Titus 1:6] A spiritual leader must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife and have children who are believers. His children shouldn’t be known for having wild lifestyles or being rebellious.

11. [1 Corinthians 7:1-3] It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband 

12. [Ephesians 5:33] Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

13. [Hebrews 13:3-4] “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge“

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