Expert: LEBoyd - 3/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: Please tell me where did marriage change?  I have been studying King David and Solomon and the many wives they had and concubines...What was adultery to them?  What was fornication to them?  When did it all change?  Did God change or is it man's laws?
thanks for your answer...

ANSWER: Valerie,

Great question, and the answer is "never."  God never changed the definition of marriage, adultery or fornication.  We can see this throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Matt. 19 is an excellent chapter that talks about this.  Jesus says God didn't change the definition of marriage (and even refers back to the creation of marriage by God in Genesis).

So, who did change it?  Man.  Once man disobeyed God in the garden, he continued (and continues) to do so.  Whether this was breaking the institution of marriage, murdering, stealing or whatever.

Hope this helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: DAVID WAS WELL LOVED BY GOD AND DAVID ALWAYS SEEMED REPENTANT OF ANY SINS.  DAVID HAD MORE THAN ONE WIFE AND EVEN SPOKE OF HIM HAVING CONCUBINES.  GOD BLESSED DAVID.  IF HE WAS SINNING, BY HAVING MORE THAN ONE WIFE AND CONCUBINES...HOW COULD GOD BLESS DAVID.

Answer
Valerie,

This is a great follow up question.  What we see from David in the Bible is a man who wanted to serve God and be obedient, but who didn't always do so.  In fact, David writes of his own short comings often.  The examples of wives and concubines is just one area in which David fell short.

This leads us to your question of God blessing obviously sinful people.  The New Testament makes it more clear than the Old Testament.  I believe this to be the case because as the New Testament tells us, the Old was a Tutor for people to learn about God and sin (Gal. 3 [I'm going by memory because I don't have my Bible with me, so the chapter may not be right]) and that the Old Testament was a "shadow" of the New Testament (Heb. I think around Chapter 10).

In the New Testament, especially the book of 1 John, we see that both obedience is necessary (1 John 5) and yet that we sin (1 John 2 - I think).  So, then we go to 1 John 1:7 which tells us that the reason we can still be saved even though we are not obedient is because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us if we are "walking in the light" or striving to serve and honor God.  1 John is a great book that helps explain that 1) we are required to be obedient, 2) we're not, but 3) Jesus is the reason we can be saved.  Another book that tells us this is Romans.  It also says that we are required to be obedient, we're not, but Jesus is the reason we can be saved.

Hope this helps.