Was it a sin for David/ Solomon to have multiple wives?

Was it a sin for David/Solomon to have multiple wives?

by Reagan Marsh

Q. Was it a sin for David (and Solomon) to have multiple wives/ concubines? Why was David punished for Bathsheba when he had all the other women? Isn’t marriage 1 man + 1 woman? Is there inconsistency in this?

A. Great question. Understand that David’s and Solomon’s marital situations, complexities, and sins were the precise fulfillment of what God had warned would happen if Israel failed to destroy the godless nations in the promised land: they would learn their ways (Deuteronomy 12:30) and become like them. As 1 Corinthians 15:33 warns, bad company ruins good morals.

So, to the question: Yes, it was sin for them to have multiple wives/concubines. In Genesis 2:24-25, Moses speaks of a man cleaving to his wife (singular), and the two becoming one flesh. Ephesians 5:22-33 speaks in lockstep with Genesis 2 when Paul describes a wife (singular) and a husband (singular). The NT further shows that the pattern for Christian marriage is to be exemplified in an elder’s life, specifically in that he is to be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

David was punished in the Bathsheba account (2 Samuel 11) because his sins were lust, seducing her to marital unfaithfulness, committing adultery, abusing/misusing power entrusted to him for others’ wellbeing, committing murder, and involving others in his own sins. It’s worth noting that the Hebrew is suggestive that he may actually even have forced her against her will (i.e., sexual assault/rape). A great deal of the civil unrest in Israel at the time was not merely circumstantial, but judicial – God’s punishment of David’s sin with the other women. His own family was deeply affected by his sin (for example, the shame of Amnon raping Tamar, and Absalom murdering Amnon in revenge…like father, like sons). When Absalom rebelled and David fled, leaving 10 concubines behind to defend the palace, David’s shame was complete: the giant-slayer who had killed his ten thousands was on the run from an out-of-control teenager. This, in part, is why Solomon later wrote, Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death (Proverbs 19:18).

David’s punishment with Bathsheba, then, was because he despised his own marital covenant(s), and hers; and that cheapening of what God ordains and consecrates between a man and his wife carried disastrous results. David had learned the ways of the godless nations, and decided to live like a king (cf. 1 Sam 8.10- 18) rather than a servant of God and the people. Having multiple wives in Scripture is reported, but never approved; it’s generally a sign of one being led by lust, who is not disciplining himself for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7-8). The man after God’s own heart was following his own heart, which led him straight into ruin;

and when Solomon came to power, he followed the same course— with the result that his foreign wives led him astray from the Lord (1 Kings 11:3).

Such inconsistency is par for the course with man, but not God. God is patient with our sin and theirs, but his patience is not forever; even the best of men require a Saviour from their sin. We have him in the Christ who was Son of David (Matthew 21:9) and Son of God (Matthew 27:54) – the faithful husband-King who is far greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). Jesus is the proof of God’s holy commitment to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). He will one day receive us as his radiant, blood-washed bride, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27); and we will be with him forever. Whatever wicked men may do, Jesus doesn’t take two wives; and Christians may rest secure in his faithful covenant love.

If you’d like to submit a question about the Scriptures, please use the contact form at reformationdalton.com – maybe I can answer it in a future GNM article.

About The Author

Reagan Marsh is husband to Kara, daddy to RG & AG, and founding Pastor-Teacher to Reformation Baptist Church. A biblical counselor, and Th.D student in Puritan Studies, he has served in gospel ministry since 1998.