Recently I’ve been spending my time in the car catching up on the Old Testament thanks to the Bible.Is app on my iPhone. I’m learning a lot about the Old Testament culture via the books of Samuel & Kings. One thing I just don’t get is how all of these guys had so many wives and concubines. I mean really, wasn’t God revering these dudes as men that did what was right in the eyes of the Lord? How did we jump from the Old Testament where the men had many wives and prostitutes to today where we tout monogamy? I’m not saying we should be polygamist. I’m saying the Old Testament should have been a little more clear that having 500 wives or 10 wives wasn’t exactly God’s favorite thing, but maybe I just haven’t gotten to that part yet.
I just don’t understand how these men did it. I mean, it’s hard enough for Casey to have one wife. Granted I’m probably a little more strong-willed and high maintenance than the wives of the Old Testament, but still. How did these fellas keep all those wives happy? Did they even know their names? And what was the difference between a wife and a concubine? Why didn’t they just have one wife and lots of concubines? I definitely sense that the wives of the Old Testament were ruled over and “managed” more than they were partners in a marriage. I suppose it’d be easier to handle 20 wives when you have them all under your thumb and they cower at your presence than one wife that’s an equal partner. If Solomon were living in “love your wife as Christ loved the Church times” of Ephesians 5:25, would he still have so many wives? Who knows. With as hard as it’s been to maintain one marriage, I can’t imagine Casey opting in to another one.
