Exodus 21:10 says:
"If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish." (KJV)
This means that if a man took another wife, he was still responsible for providing for his first wife.
Deuteronomy 21:15–17 also establishes inheritance rights for children of a man with two wives.
These passages show that polygamy was legally recognized and regulated in ancient Israel.
POLYGAMY IS A SIN ‼️
The first man recorded in Scripture to practice polygamy was Lamech, a descendant of Cain, who murdered his brother and departed from the presence of God (Genesis 4:16–19).
Lamech followed in Cain’s violent footsteps, even boasting about killing a man (Genesis 4:23–24). Polygamy first appears in Scripture within a lineage marked by rebellion, violence, and moral corruption!
God’s original design was never multiple wives, but ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, ONE FLESH (Genesis 2:24). Jesus reaffirmed this divine order in Matthew 19:4–6.
Solomon multiplied wives, married women who worshiped false gods, and eventually turned his heart away from the LORD. His disobedience brought divine judgment upon his kingdom (1 Kings 11:1–11).
Polygamy opens the door to spiritual compromise, division, and destruction! Scripture warns us to give no place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). Our disobedience can also affect our families and future generations (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Many African cultures celebrate polygamy, but CULTURE DOES NOT OVERRIDE SCRIPTURE! There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is death (Proverbs 14:12).
If you are married and entertaining lustful desires for another person, Jesus already warned that lust itself is adultery of the heart (Matthew 5:28).
ONE MAN. ONE WOMAN. ONE COVENANT.
God never changed His original design for marriage. Just because something was practiced in Scripture does not mean God approved of it!