There you go again, ignoring context. Deut. 17:17 is referring to kings of Israel that God shall choose.
17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. (Moses, Deuteronomy 17:17-18)
So, lots of horses(verse 16), lots of wives, and lots of gold and silver are bad for the king. It does not say he only gets one horse, one wife, one gold, and one silver. Why then did God choose David the polygamist to be a king of Israel? Why did he choose wise Solomon the serial polygamist to be a king of Israel?
In Deuteronomy 21 it says this to the rest of his people, not specific to the kings of Israel:
“15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love...”
Two wives, just like Moses.
Why did Moses even give the command in Lev 18:18 if a second wife was not allowed? There is no reason to say do not marry your wife’s sister as your 2nd wife if another wife is not allowed in the first place. Why not just say do not take another woman as your 2nd wife?
18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.” (Moses, Lev. 18:18)
(But after your wife is dead, have sexual relations with her sister all you want? Lol)
Moses says it’s not ok to marry your wife’s sister but obviously it is ok to marry an Ethiopian as your 2nd wife.
The Prophet Jacob married sisters so why didn’t that disqualify him from being called as a Prophet of Go?
and what about Exodus 21:10
“10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.”
The context appears to me to say if a man buys himself a servant for himself (as his wife) then she still has marital rights if he marries another woman. Sounds like polygamy.
Why would I squirm? God chose rophets who were polygamists and he chose kings of Israel who were polygamists. If God was against polygamy, why did he choose so many polygamists as his prophets and kings?
What ELSE did GOD have to work with other than SINFUL men?
GOD 'chose' a Liar &Deceiver - Jacob - does this mean lying and deception is ok?
GOD 'chose' a MURDERER - Moses - does this mean murder is ok?
GOD 'chose' a PROSTITUTE - Rahab - does this mean prostitution is ok?
GOD 'chose' an Accountant/Treasurer - Judas - does this mean ...
See the pattern here?
Matthew 19:7-9
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?"
He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.
"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.
I don't agree with everything said in this source...and could cherrypick many sources if I wanted to find MANY that would agree 100% with David's historical timeline...
"David was married to Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacha, Haggith, Abital and Eglah during the 7-1/2 years he reigned in Hebron as king of Judah. After David moved his capital to Jerusalem, he married Bathsheba."
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/biblepeople/a/020811-CW-King-Davids-Wives.htm
Did you catch the above? (And there's THOUSANDS more sources I could cite that would agree with this: David's sleeping around occurred after he assumed king status...which occurred circa 2 Sam. 5)
It wasn't like he was some philanderer that God then said, "Great, you've got the bedroom makings for a king! Here's your crown!"
Why did he choose wise Solomon the serial polygamist to be a king of Israel?...God chose rophets who were polygamists and he chose kings of Israel who were polygamists. If God was against polygamy, why did he choose so many polygamists as his prophets and kings?
I've already quoted Deut. 17:17...but allow me to quote it again because of a key follow-up passage in 1 Kings 11:
17 He MUST NOT take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
So what happened then with Solomon? Did his heart go astray as the Bible warned? (Yup)
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God... (1 Kings 11:3-4)
Hmmm...I guess Deut. 17:17 was right...
Besides didn't you ... in the same posting say:
Deut. 17:17 is referring to kings of Israel that God shall choose.
So what? It applies to Solomon the king, but somehow not to David the king? (How do you twist out of that inconsistency?
And THEN you wrote: 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. 18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. (Moses, Deuteronomy 17:17-18) So, lots of horses(verse 16), lots of wives, and lots of gold and silver are bad for the king. It does not say he only gets one horse, one wife, one gold, and one silver.
So...if let's say...we said David had 7 or 8 wives...(AND, btw, I don't think all of the women who bore David children were clearly delineated as "wives"...some were apparently concubines...and there IS a difference)...you're somehow now claiming that 7 or 8 isn't under your category of "LOTS" ... but... what? 9 is? 10 is? 11 is? Where's your arbitrary line you are arbitrarily drawing here reached to where that word "lots" kicks in?
Answer?
I don't believe there IS any line you can draw with the subjective arbitrary statements you've made!