Weren’t the Biblical patriarchs and kings in polygamous relationships? Were they sinning?
Yes they were sinning..but God overlooked their sin
King David did a lot of things. He murdered, too, and offended God in many ways, and was judged. Once, when he numbered his people against God’s wishes, God killed over 30,000 Israelites in judgement against him.
We can’t base our lives on David, at least not on his sinful behavior. He did good and right things too, and was a believer.
We are Christians, not Davidians or Abrahamians.
God started with Adam and Eve, one man, one woman. He never changed it.
Mathew 19:6: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” said Jesus.
Note, two. Not three or more.
Constant references to marriage law refer to one husband and one wife, both in the New Testament and the Old.
Ephesians 5:33
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Note, not each one of you must love his wives, and the wives must respect their husband.
Note the requirements for being an elder:
Titus 1:6 “If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. . .”
Teaching regarding the relationship of marriage constantly reference one husband and one wife.
I am sorry I have to print out the fact that marriage is between one man and woman as ordained by God on Free Republic. I could cite a hundred or more Bible verses that directly teach or indirectly refer to the estate of marriage being between one man and one woman. It should not even be a question.
The polygamy practices of several (not all) of the patriarchs are shown as their downfall. Solomon was lost due to his pagan wives. The children of David’s several wives destroyed and divided the kingdom. Abraham’s polygamy set up the oldest ethnic rivalry on the planet, still working out today. Just because it is recorded in Scripture does not mean it is endorsed.
They also lived in an era when God's children wanted to approach Him, they were required to a) go through a priest and b) to offer animal and/or grain sacrifices, among other burdensome restrictions. That law has been obsolete for over 2000 years. We are no longer under the old law. We're under the New Law, and to have multiple simultaneous living marriage partners is sinful.
But since you brought up the patriarchs and monarchs, for future reference, polygamy/concubines (also accepted) didn't work out for them, either.
Abraham, for example, because of the jealousy of Sarah, cast out Hagar and (his first born son) Ishmael. The irony was that Sarah was the one who gave him Hagar in the first place.
Solomon had 1000 wives and 700 concubines. Polygamy didn't work out for him, either. Read Ecclesiastes. It's a book written by someone who evidently struggled with clinical depression.
And David? This Psalm, written by David, is acknowledged by some of the greatest Bible scholars as his lament over his having contracted sexually transmitted diseases.
Ps 38:4-7 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. KJV
The trio mentioned in the article are in for hard times. Polygamy doesn't work. Somebody loses. And yes, they are sinning.
"'Polygamy is prohibited by Scripture and all Christian churches. Monogamous marriage is the only form of marriage recognized by Jesus as instituted by God for all times (Matt. 19:4-6)....While Scripture records instances of polygamous marriage in the Old Testament, it does not thereby sanction polygamy. It is forbidden in the Moral Law (Lev. 18:18). The Civil Law of Moses did indeed permit it (Deut. 21:15-17), as it permitted also divorces not sanctioned by the Moral Law, and for the same reason, 'because of the hardness of their hearts' (Matt. 19:8). This toleration and regulation of polygamy and of divorce does not carry with it the sanction of Moral Law. A thing may be legally right, but not morally." (E. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine, 286)
"According to the divine institution, lawful marriage consists of one man and one woman (Gen. 2:18,24). Christ supported monogamy as the only proper form of marriage (Matt. 19:4-6). While the Bible does not directly condemn the plural marriages that occurred in the Old Testament, it candidly reports the evil effects of polygamy (or polygyny), as in the families of Jacob (Gen. 35:22; 37:18-28), David (2 Sam. 13; 15), and especially Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-2)." (J. T. Mueller, The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, "Polygamy")
The above-described position is similar to that held by the Roman Catholic Church (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1610, 1645, 2387).
Jacob entered into that initially via deception...not exactly an institutionalized route you'd advocate, would you?
Re: Abraham...the Bible never indicates that he slept with his wife's servant more than once.
Abraham, the Angel of the Lord, Moses, Paul, and even the woman herself, Hagar -- all refer to her as still a mistress of the Sarah (Sarai) AFTER she slept with Abraham. There are no post-sleeping arrangement references to her as a "wife."
So what other "patriarchs" are you referencing?