for those of you that can be or choose to be open with others about your beliefs in this truth, having some rebuttals like this really does make things easier:
from don milton again....
There is no problem between wives per se in the story of Leah and Rachel. Neither of them show any jealosy at all of the other wives. The problem is between the two sisters. God later banned marriages by oÂne man to two sisters when He presented the law to Moses.
The Bible records over 1,160 women involved in polygamous marriages although there were thousands more cases that simply went unrecorded. (The reason that we know there were thousands more cases is that there are so many cases of numbers of children beyond what oÂne woman could produce such as the 60 children of Gideon that we know the father had to have had more than oÂne wife.) Of the recorded 1,160 women involved in polygamous marriages the following are the oÂnly cases where competition or discord is described:
Sarah (second to bear children) & Hagar.Rachael (second to bear children) and Leah.Hannah (second to bear children) and Peninnah.Repeat; these are the three reported cases of so called strife! Where, pray tell, are the huge numbers of cases of strife?
Furthermore, in every oÂne of these cases the discord was associated with the oÂne who already had children causing jealousy in the other (overtly or not) because the other had not yet had any children or as in the case of Rachael was not having as many children. Since when is competition evil? Now, in all cases it was the wife who bore last who was blessed with the son who would bless others. If not for women in polygamous marriages we would not have been blessed with:
Isaac, son of the polygamist Abram. Isaac became the father of Jacob; the polygamist father of the chosen people of God, Israel!Joseph, son of the polygamist Jacob. Joseph saved his family (the nation of Israel)!
Samuel, son of the polygamist Elkanah. Samuel anointed David to be king over Israel who himself was another polygamist!
Solomon, son of the polygamist David. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived and Jesus even referred to "Solomon in all his splendor."
In every case where there was strife between wives it was one of the children of the second to bear children who became a great man!
In all the other cases of polygamy in the Bible there was no strife reported.
from don milton again....
There is no problem between wives per se in the story of Leah and Rachel. Neither of them show any jealosy at all of the other wives. The problem is between the two sisters. God later banned marriages by oÂne man to two sisters when He presented the law to Moses.
The Bible records over 1,160 women involved in polygamous marriages although there were thousands more cases that simply went unrecorded. (The reason that we know there were thousands more cases is that there are so many cases of numbers of children beyond what oÂne woman could produce such as the 60 children of Gideon that we know the father had to have had more than oÂne wife.) Of the recorded 1,160 women involved in polygamous marriages the following are the oÂnly cases where competition or discord is described:
Sarah (second to bear children) & Hagar.Rachael (second to bear children) and Leah.Hannah (second to bear children) and Peninnah.Repeat; these are the three reported cases of so called strife! Where, pray tell, are the huge numbers of cases of strife?
Furthermore, in every oÂne of these cases the discord was associated with the oÂne who already had children causing jealousy in the other (overtly or not) because the other had not yet had any children or as in the case of Rachael was not having as many children. Since when is competition evil? Now, in all cases it was the wife who bore last who was blessed with the son who would bless others. If not for women in polygamous marriages we would not have been blessed with:
Isaac, son of the polygamist Abram. Isaac became the father of Jacob; the polygamist father of the chosen people of God, Israel!Joseph, son of the polygamist Jacob. Joseph saved his family (the nation of Israel)!
Samuel, son of the polygamist Elkanah. Samuel anointed David to be king over Israel who himself was another polygamist!
Solomon, son of the polygamist David. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived and Jesus even referred to "Solomon in all his splendor."
In every case where there was strife between wives it was one of the children of the second to bear children who became a great man!
In all the other cases of polygamy in the Bible there was no strife reported.
