The Matter of Concubines

609 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 20:3 Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood. (2 Sam 20:3) Let's talk a little bit about concubines. The term concubine is first introduced in the Bible in Ge 22:24. Nahor, (Abraham's brother) had a concubine named Reumah. A concubine is defined as a “paramour,” which means an illicit lover. What makes the lover illicit is God's parameter of sexual activity being restricted to one man and one woman in marriage. Jesus made it clear when he was discussing marriage with the Pharisees in Mt 19:4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5 "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." In biblical times, God's people became greatly influenced by the world and it's ways, and the practice of collecting concubines became widely accepted. These concubines by definition, had a recognized social status in the household, but it was below the status of the wife. These concubines were also status symbols and often used for political purposes. The more concubines a king had, the more powerful he was perceived to be. Solomon had 300! These 10 concubines that David left behind were assigned the task of keeping house, but Absalom violated them and therefore David was not allowed by Levitical law to use them as paramours.. (Funny how that Law was applied here, but the one man, one woman law ignored!) This whole situation was a royal mess, but then that's what usually happens when we ignore God's Word. The world and it's ways continually press upon us seeking to get us to conform to it's ways. Let this be a reminder to us all of the admonition found in Ro 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That perfect will is one man, one woman, till death do us part.