“Only 1 Wife!” – FBC Morning Light (4/12/2024)

Well, a good Friday morning to you, looking forward to the weekend. I trust you are, gathering with God's people on the Lord's Day, and I hope you'll make that a priority this weekend. Well, today in our Bible reading, we're doing a lot of jumping around, and if you follow the Bible reading plan, you find us going from 2 Samuel 4 and 5, to 1 Chronicles 11, back to 2 Samuel 5, then to 1 Chronicles 11, then to 1 Chronicles 12, then back to 2 Samuel 5, then 1 Chronicles 14, 2 Samuel 5, just jumping back and forth.

Chronological Bible Reading and Repeated Historical Events

Now, just as a reminder, the reason for all the back and forth is we're reading through the Bible this year chronologically, and you get some of these historical books, and particularly 2 Samuel, there's some duplication of events in 2 Samuel and in Chronicles, as well as in Kings and Chronicles, so going through these historical books, so we'll be doing some jumping back and forth.

But what I want to zero in on is, in 2 Samuel chapter 5, verses 13 and following, and to set this up, I want to remind you of the law that Moses laid down all the way back in Deuteronomy 17. In Deuteronomy 17, so this had been before the Israelites ever crossed the Jordan River and started to take possession of the land.

The King Must Not Multiply Wives

So this has been several years now since Moses gave this law from the Lord in Deuteronomy 17. And listen to what it says. The Lord is speaking through Moses, Moses reports, and he says, when you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me, you shall surely set a king over you, and they did with Saul.

Remember that? But then there's this additional statement, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. Now, that was David, all right? Now, yes, the Lord zeroed in on Saul, but really what the Lord has in mind here is the Davidic kingdom and the Davidic dynasty.

So he says, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One from among your own brethren you shall set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother.

Then he says this, but he, the king, shall not multiply horses for himself, and then in verse 17 he says, neither shall he multiply wives for himself. Now here's an interesting thing. Saul, as the king over Israel, had but one wife.

We don't read about him multiplying wives unto himself. But can the same be said for David? Well, you know, by the time David actually received the throne, you know, we looked at this yesterday, how for the first seven and a half years he was the king over only Judah.

But even at that point, David had more than one wife. And now when we come to 2 Samuel 5, David becomes king over all Israel, all the tribes finally come under his authority and reign, but then verse 13 says this.

Well, verse 12, let's go back to verse 12. It says, David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. All right, so David, firmly established as the king.

And then what does it say? And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also, more sons and daughters were born to David. And then there's the names of the sons and daughters born to David.

So here was this, you know, really foundational, fundamental rule, if you will, for the kings of Israel. They were not to multiply wives for themselves. And yet, what did David do? Soon does he get firmly established as the king over all Israel, that he feels like he's entitled to have more women to join his household.

And he adds wives and concubines to his harem. Now, here's the thing, this is clearly a violation of God's Word, and what God had intended. And it not only... it is not only a terrible violation of God's design for marriage, and disobedience to what God designed for kings, it's a terrible precedent set for all who will follow.

Solomon, for example, the next king, David's son, he takes David's practice and multiplies it manyfold over. And so here is the man whom God has chosen to be king over Israel. It is good for us to remind ourselves that just because God chose him to be the king over all Israel doesn't mean that he was perfect and righteous in all his ways, even before the Bathsheba incident.

David Is Not an Excuse for Sin

For some reason, he developed a heart that said, I'm entitled to having more wives. And in that sense of entitlement, he was actually disobedient to God. Some people look at this and use it as an excuse.

I've heard tell of that, that some spiritual leaders, pastors of mega churches and so forth, they get involved with other women, and they use David as sort of an excuse to justify or at least get away with their adultery.

That's not the approach to take. The approach to take is to say, even a David could sin against the Lord. Did the Lord use him? Yeah, the Lord used him. But did he get away with all this? No, not really, not in the end.

It's never justified to do wrong and say, because somebody else did, it's okay for me to as well. No. We know what God wants us to do, the right thing to do is to do it. So let's be warned and challenged in that today.

Father, we do thank you for revealing to us all the warts, even, of those who are recorded in the Bible, and it is even by this we know of the historical accuracy of your word. Your word doesn't cover up and hide and gloss over the errors, even, of these whom you've chosen to serve you.

Prayer for Warning and Integrity

But let us be warned by it, let us be challenged by this, not to follow in such footsteps, we pray, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, listen, have a great weekend, and I trust you'll gather with God's people on Sunday and worship the Lord together.

Good day.