Quite The Journey

This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom).  Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.  He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.  Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel.  Oholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.  All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. [Genesis 36.1-5]

As much as Bible enthusiasts wish to downplay polygamy, the fact is, polygamy was widely responsible for the population of the earth.  In particular, polygamy was responsible for particular lineages like Esau's and Jacob's to proliferate providing the platform for the entire Old Testament story. (Reader, don't quit me here, keep reading...)

It is easy to see how polygamy could be responsible for widespread reproduction of any given bent in a population.  It is no secret that, when a patriarch has convictions about any given thing, religious or otherwise, there are increased chances of his convictions being passed on generationally.

The story of the Old Testament is all about the Covenant being carried through the generations up until the Advent of Messiah.  Question: did large families make the Covenant lineage thread easier or more complicated?  Jacob, for example had twelve sons but the lineage pointing to Messiah came only through Judah.  As Bible history goes, 'the story' leaves the Messianic lineage with Jacob's offspring and focuses on non-Messianic lineage characters, Joseph in particular.  Joseph's role however was paramount in preserving the lives and therefore lineages of his brothers including Judah.

It is a touchy subject, especially for a man to discuss, but there is more to polygamy than the damnable social practice it is considered today.  Although certainly not one hundred percent, the chances of any given patriarch carrying on his name, and therefore his ideals, direction, and beliefs, are much greater in higher volumes of offspring.

This also brings up a much more damnable topic (if that is even possible) of male and female societal roles.  The whole idea of a 'patriarch' in contrast to a 'matriarch' generates social conflict as passionate as any human rights topic out there.

Where am I going with all this?  Well, to be objective, I am simply questioning how modern Christianity can justify condemning both polygamy and male-dominance while saying they firmly believe the Bible - defending it passionately without question of the means through which its main theme was preserved!  Here is my dilemma: if pure water passes through lead pipe, that water is tainted.  Likewise, if the story of Messiah comes to us through 'poison' means (polygamy, male-dominance, etc.) should we not have concerns as to its affect?  It gets worse...

While an excellent argument could persuade us to embrace polygamy and male-dominance, that same argument would not be complete without being, in fact, complete.  If we focus on Jacob as a 'carrier' of the Covenant of Messiah, and conclude that polygamy and male-dominance are in fact desirable for propagation of 'the story' and therefore acceptable for society, THEN, we must also consistently conclude that lying and deception are equally acceptable!  Jacob was indeed a liar and deceiver!

Oh, what a tangled mess this is!

Here is where every individual must review his or her beliefs about everything.  Especially true for those who profess Christianity and the Bible, these questions must be settled - these questions and their ponderings are necessary for a person to decide what he or she wants to believe (because is that not what we all do - believe what we want to believe?).

Okay, here is my conclusion.  The story of Messiah and his 'lineage' are paramount to Christianity.  However, 'lineage' was not the means for propagation of the Messiah, but the means to indicate (or point to) the Messiah.  There is a HUGE difference.  The blood in Jesus' veins was pure God-blood and had no trace of any human lineage.  As such, it was not tainted with polygamy, male-dominance, lying, deception, incest, or any other human indiscretion associated with lineage - it was, in fact, pure.  God chose to use the only means available to carry His Story - humans... imperfect and fallen humans.  God never condoned questionable practices, but kept His story alive in spite of them.

And that is precisely what God still does today...

Father, this post has been quite the journey all by itself today.  Thank You for Your Story and thank You for Jesus.  And, thank You for allowing me to believe in You - I consider it a privilege.