Ed, my neighbour next door, has a different sense of humour than mine and he often tries out jokes on me. He had a Ben and Bob joke for me the other day. It went like this. Bob: Who introduced you to your wife? Ben: We just happened to meet. I don't blame nobody.
Ed's joke led into a discussion about wives in general.
"Is it true in the Old Testament that men had more than one wife?" Ed asked.
"I can see that Ruby must still be away," I answered. Ruby, Ed's wife, has been traveling with their daughter. "Since you asked, I can say Jacob had two wives and their two maids as his wives." I also added, "But God felt one wife was plenty, as he just gave Adam one wife in the person of Eve. You better stick to one, because Ruby may not take kindly to you having another wife when she comes home."
"I saw something about someone in B.C. having more than one wife, and I wondered if it was a Biblical thing or something," Ed explained.
"I would say it is 'a something', as Jesus spoke of leaving parents and being united with a wife - not several wives. He also spoke of a husband and wife being faithful to each other for as long as they live," I said to Ed. "How many wives do you think a man should have?"
"It depends on the day," Ed replied. "Some days, one is more than enough. But when they are absent, it is like missing an arm."
People get real sensitive and intense about their wife or wives. Having a wife that is married to someone else is not doing it God's way. King Herod had John the Baptist arrested and put in prison because John had said of Herodias, Herod's wife, "It is not lawful for her to be your wife." John said this because she was already the wife of Herod's brother Philip. People with power often silence their critics and Herod kept John in prison.
Herodias hated John the Baptist even though the people considered him a prophet. She waited for an opportunity to get even with him. Her daughter danced at a banquet in honour of the king's birthday. The king promised to give Herodias' daughter whatever she wanted for her dancing. Prompted by her mother, she said to the king, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king, because of his promise before his dinner guests, ordered John beheaded in prison. John's head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
The Bible says, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the Lord. A wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also."
One wife would seem to be the right number but more important is treating your wife with love and respect. Paul said it this way, "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband."
