Deuteronomy 21:15-17 – Avoiding showing partiality

One disturbing fact when reading Deuteronomy 21:15-17 is the suggestion of the practice of bigamy. Be sure that right from the start God’s intention was for every marriage to be monogamous. The question we ask then why do we read about the polygamous and bigamous relationships in the Old Testament? The patriarchs from Abraham and Jacob had more than one wife. Then we read of both David and Solomon had more than one wife. The list can go on. But no answer will ever be completely adequate and satisfactory, except that polygamy and bigamy in the Old Testament were allowed as a concession.

While God’s revelation is wholistic and He can see the end from the beginning, our  revelation is progressive. We can only understand more as more truths come to light. So when we come to the New Testament, more light had been shed and the emphasis for marriage is for one man one wife. Anyway, polygamy or bigamy always brings discontent. No man who has more than one wife will ever be exempted from stress, strife, and tension in the home. So it makes perfect sense to stay faithful to the woman one marries and avoid the needless bickering in one’s family.    

Since the fall, men had been rendered incapable of total obedience until Christ came.  So prior to Christ’s coming, God had to have laws in place to regulate human relationships. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 was given to ensure impartiality in the home. These verses suggest that when a man had two wives, he would experience divided affection for his wives. He would show his love for one wife more than the other. When that happened, he would also show disparity when he was dividing his inheritance. The portion to the firstborn was always a double portion and the inheritance of the family land. God was making sure that even if the firstborn was not from his favorite wife, he must be given the double portion accorded to the firstborn.  

What application can we glean from these three verses? Firstly, we need to know that  God’s intention for marriage is one man one wife. So be sure to stay faithful to that one woman one has married. Don’t invite complications to one’s home and bring stress, strife, and tension by entertaining a polygamous relationship. Thankfully the marriage law in Singapore only makes provision for monogamous marriage. The implication of these verses is for us to stay true to the woman we marry. Secondly, underpinning these three verses is the call to be impartial. By staying in a monogamous marriage one will have reduced one area of playing favorite and practicing impartiality. One will only have one spouse to shower his love on. There will not be another to bring about a divided affection. The two lessons for us are: to ensure faithfulness in marriage and to avoid impartiality. We must nurture a God-pleasing and harmonious home for the glory of God.