Spiritual Fidelity & Trust in God

kingdomcitizensinc
Sep 19
9 min read

the polygamous plight series

Welcome to the kingdom citizens blog!

Our faithfulness to Christ causes us to flourish, benefiting the relationships we have with mankind as well. Likewise, our unfaithfulness to Christ naturally reaps unfavorable outcomes with God and mankind.

Covenants throughout the Bible are used as agreements of fidelity; a demonstration of consistent trust, loyalty, and support. This is the type of relationship God establishes with His people. God’s covenant is a betrothal to His bride, the church, by which we dedicate our obedience and faithfulness to Him alone. As the Lord’s betrothed, we can depend on Him for His covering, protection, provision, and tender loving-kindness.

God's Word is Bond

God’s Word is bond, but unlike Adam and Eve who didn’t trust His Word and fell, we must believe in the perfection of God’s power and wisdom. Time and time again, we witness Yahweh give His Word and watch mankind falter in their faithfulness. Humanity proves to be unfaithful again and again. So God the Father sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to live the perfect life of faithfulness we cannot. In doing so, our sins were forgiven. And all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior inherited the promise God made to Abraham; joining in number the inheritance of the true bride of Christ, the Ecclesia.

When we choose to rebel against God’s Word, defining right and wrong on our own terms, we violate the intended pattern of God’s willful covenant. To not trust the Lord by choosing to overrule His Word with our fears, anxieties, impatience, and distrust - we run the risk of creating chaos that will grow to frustrate the intended manifestation of God’s Word. We see a long-standing example of this today with a decision Abram and Sarai made centuries ago.

Abram and Sarai were promised a son, one who would usher in a lineage of promise that would bless the entire world. But instead of remaining patient and trusting God in the face of their adversity and impatience, they chose to implement their own plan; a not-so-gentle way of helping God along in fulfilling His promised heir to Abram and Sarai.

The Impact of Impatience

In Genesis chapter 16, we see Sarai becoming impatient in not having any children. She makes a foolish mistake that comes back to bite her in the butt, disappoints God, and sets up one of the greatest religious rivalries of all time between the Jews and the Muslims. Let’s read how the introduction of polygamous behaviors led to such devastation and destruction. Genesis 16:1-6 reads:

“1 Sarai was Abram’s wife, but she did not have any children. She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai told Abram, “The Lord has not allowed me to have children, so sleep with my slave. Maybe she can have a son, and I will accept him as my own.” Abram did what Sarai said.

3 So after living ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai gave her Egyptian slave to Abram as a second wife. 4 Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized this, she became very proud and began to feel that she was better than Sarai her owner. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My slave girl now hates me, and I blame you for this. I gave her to you, and she became pregnant. Then she began to feel that she is better than I am. I want the Lord to judge which of us is right.”

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “She is your slave. You can do anything you want to her.” So Sarai was cruel to Hagar, and Hagar ran away.”

Be careful taking on, as your own, what doesn’t belong to you. What others birth by osmosis can never truly be yours and can frustrate your life before it fulfills your intended desire. Only God can provide what His Word says He will establish. He doesn’t need our help. He requires our faithfulness. Throughout Genesis, chapters 16 through 18, God constantly instructs Abram to remain obedient to His Word, trusting the Lord as the All-Powerful One. Yahweh tells Abram to do the right thing, living the right way, obeying the agreements of their covenant.

What chaos are we inviting into our God-covenant or breaking God-covenant for?

Opposition Outside of Order

Instead of choosing to heed the voice of God, Abram unknowingly chose violence, accepting Sarai’s instruction over the Lord’s command. Doesn’t this sound familiar to us? This is exactly what happened when Adam chose to eat the fruit Eve gave him, instead of rebuking her and reinforcing the Word of the Lord. The covenant of marriage that is established between God and a couple cannot successfully include any other outside influence. We see in many cases how contrary relations (romantically, platonically, or otherwise) only oppose, confuse, or debilitate God’s intended order of covenant.

The serpent in the garden conned Eve into rejecting God’s Word. Sarai invited Hagar into her covenant with God and Abram, birthing long-term issues with Ishmael’s lineage. What are we inviting into our covenant or breaking covenant for? Furthermore, what are we inducing before its time and blaming others for, after our “destiny detours” open disastrous doors?

There has to be a reason why we invite extramarital “solutions” into our covenantal dilemmas. Pride, selfishness, vanity, and greed often are the culprits leading us into infidelity during our ill-advised attempts to obtain what we want, when we want it. In the book of Judges we witness Gideon’s take on status and prestige, bolstered up by polygamous behaviors. Though it was Gideon’s intention to honor God by submitting to Him his victories over Midian and the Ishmaelites, and reign over Israel — Gideon became a victim of his own success.

Gideon's Legacy

Judges 8:22-30

“22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.”

23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24 Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.

25 They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a cloak, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it. 26 The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

28 So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for forty years during the days of Gideon. 29 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) son of Joash went back to live at his house.

30 Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives.”

Look who we have here — the Ishmaelites. These are the descendents of Abram and Hagar’s son, Ishmael. Often referred to as desert dwellers, these Ishmaelites fulfilled the prophetic word written of Ishmael and the nations of his lineage in Genesis 16:12, “ His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility against all his brothers.” Not only were they causing issues in the Arabian Peninsula but they were also who Joseph was sold to by his brothers in Genesis 37.

In looking at Gideon’s legacy, his defeat of the Midianites and Ishmaelites put him in the spotlight. Before that, Israel nicknamed him Jerubbaal (“let Baal plead” or “let Baal contend”) after destroying the altars of Baal. Though he attempted to turn the people back to God as their Sovereign Ruler, they wanted to make him king. Gideon was a prophet, judge, and great military leader but always maintained the humble heart of a servant of God.

We see Gideon in two lights here. First, we witness his heart for God, which could be comparable to king David’s heart. Secondly, Gideon also shares a resemblance to king David in the way that he had many wives; so many, in fact, that Gideon was recorded as having seventy sons. What this may denote about Gideon is that though he had a desire for God to rule, he himself, still lived like a king. Well, how can I determine that to be true?

Kings & Concubines

If we observe Gideon’s many wives and 70 sons in accordance with a contextually sound view of history in this region at that time, we’ll discover that polygamy was a sign of power and prestige. Multiple wives and dozens of children was a sign of great wealth. Consider the massive expense associated with maintaining a huge house on tons of land, while feeding, clothing, and protecting such a household. If the practical side of things doesn’t make his desire for kingly recognition plain enough, look at what he named one of his sons - Abimelech, which translates as, “my father is king”.

Furthermore, with the defeat of Midian and the assisting Ishmaelites, he acquired even more wealth and territory. Notice how verses 24-27 describe the gold earrings the Ishmaelites wore, along with all the other wealth of Midian. Gold earrings were common at this time but the Ishmaelites were known for wearing gold earrings because they were not just desert dwellers but luxury traders, traveling across the desert with high quality goods and treasures that we see Midian acquired in great quantity. Midian was such an integral part of the Ishmaelites trade, that they chose to fight alongside the Midianites. You don’t think Gideon and the others had pillaged more than their share, especially after reading about them crafting the ephod?

Traditionally, a king in this region during this time flaunted his opulence and might with large palaces, many wives, and a ton of heirs to run his government in his likeness. The Judges in the Bible existed in a time of instability. People did as they saw fit, yet desired a king to unite and rule over them. God wasn’t good enough in their eyes. So they sought men and women like Gideon and Deborah to put on a pedestal in the place where only Yahweh can hold the throne. Gideon may have rejected the throne but it didn’t stop the people from propping him up on it.

CLosing

We see time and time again how dissatisfying polygamous relationships are. Not only is this true in our natural relationships but God, above all, must be the only God we enter into covenant with. Exodus 20:3-5 makes it quite clear that God is a jealous God and will not tolerate being number two in any case:

“3 Do not have other gods besides me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.”

Polygamous behavior abandons the Word and will of the Lord. Polygamy in any form will never provide a satisfactory way of living, regardless of how shiny the concept appears to be in the hand of the tempter. The pattern of creation as well as the covenant the Lord has established from the beginning, is the pattern we should observe, learn, and live by if we want to experience the true fulfillment of the Word of God.

Make sure to stay tuned in for this next blog post so you don't miss out on your word of instruction and encouragement...As we move towards closing out this Polygamous Plight Series, the next few blogs will investigate God's Sovereignty and our desire to usurp His authority as we foolishly champion Humanism over Theocracy and the consequences the occur as the result. Thank you and God bless!

Scripture of Emphasis:

Exodus 20:3 (NIV)

“3 Do not have other gods besides me.

Thank You and God Bless!

Thank you for reading this blog. Your support and contribution is treasured here. Please continue to share this content so that God may work through us to be a benefit to others. I invite you to leave a comment and stay tuned in for the next blog. I pray that this blesses you and honor’s God. Let’s continue growing together as Kingdom Citizens in Christ. Show love, be kind, and trust in God. Thank you and God bless.

Subscribe and Share. Thanks!