1. 1 Kings 11:3 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Does God approve of Solomon having a thousand wives?

1 Kings 11:3 (ESV)

3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.

This question is often asked, but the question implies the wrong statement. God does not want that. Has God forbidden it? There is no clear prohibition in the Bible. Why not? God does not apply the method of law here, but of wisdom. The Bible gives all kinds of thoughts and stories about polygamy, for example, all the quarrels in the tents of the patriarchs. In this way you see God’s wisdom in the institution of the marriage of one man and one woman.1 Later the Lord Jesus will clearly show what God's intention was from the beginning of creation, in Matthew 19:1–12.