Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-10-13


house and l viii take thy wives and
give them unto thy neighbor before
thine eyes, and he shall lie with thy
wives IN the sight of the sun; for thou
didst II secretly, but l Will do this
before all Israel, and before the sun.
All this was shortly fulnlled In the
rebellion and incest of Absalom CHAP.
xvi 2l-2D. And this was done In the
way of judgment on David for taking
and deflling the wife OF Uriah, and was
included In the curses threatened
(Deut xviii. 800, to the despiser of
Gods laws. AS to the issue OF Dayid's
adulterous commerce with Bathsheba,
1t Is written di sam. XII, l5) The Lord
struck the child uriah's wife bare un-
TO David, and It was very sick. What
dreadful scourge this was to David
who could not but read his own crime
and punishment, the following verses
declare-wherein we find David al
most frantic with grief. However, the
child's sickness was unto death, for
(yer, lS) on the seventh day it died.
Now let us take view OF David's
acts Of polygamy, when, after Uriah's
death, he added Bathsheba to his 9TH
er wives (ver 4-25). And David COM
forted Bathsheba his wife, and she bare
son. and she called his name Solo,
mon. (That maketh peace and recon-
ciliation.) And the Lord loved him.
Again We find Nathan, who had been
sent on former occasions, sent also on
this, but with a very different message.
And He (the Lord sent by the hand
Of Nathan the prophet, and he called
his name Jcddiah beloved OF the Lord
because of the Lord |. e. because OF
the favor God had towards him
ever. 2D
"Seventhly.--I have mentioned the
law being explained by the prophets.
These were extraordinary messengers
which God raised up and sent forth
under a special commission, not only
10 foretell things to come, but to
preach TO the people, to hold forth the
law, 10 point out their OBJECTIONS
from II, and to call them to repentance,
under the severest terms, OF Gods dis
pleasure unless they obeyed their COM
mission. In this respect We find record
ed in lisa. lviii, /. Cry aloud, spare not,
lift up thy voice like a trumpet;
shew my people their transgresslon,
and the house of Jacob their sins. This
COIIiilSSltl WIS W VIC ldAtulNliy tASNtt-
ed at the peril OF the prophets own
destruction. as appears from the solemn
charge given TO Ezekial, chap, Ill, Is.
When / say to the wicked thou shalt
surely die, and thou givest him not
warning, nor speakest to warn the
wicked to save his life. the same wick
cd man shall die in his iniquity, but his
blood win | require at thine hand.
These prophets executed their COM
mission very unfaithfully towards God
and the people as well as most dan-
gerously for themselves, II polygamy
was a sin against Gods law, for 1t was
q common practise OF the whole nation.
srom the prince on the throne to the
lowest of the people; and yet neither
Isaiah, jeremiah, nor any one of the
prophets, bore the least testimony
against II. They reproved them sharp
ly and plainly for deiiling their neigh
bors wives. as Jer. ", and xxx, %, In
which fifth chapter we not only find
the prophet bearing testimony against
adultery. but other sexual crimes (Ver.
y for that they assembled themselves
by troops in the harlots houses Not
word against polygamy.
How Is il possible, In any reason 20
think that this, II SIM should never
Moses, or any one OF the prophets, In
the Old Testament, It was not only al
lowed In all cases, but In some COM
manded. Here for example is the law
Deut. XIV, 3 TO 100. If brethren dwell
together, and one OF them die, and have
no child. the wife of the dead shall not
marry without unto a stranger, her
husbands brother shall go In unto her,
md take her TO him to wife, and per-
form the duty OF an husbands brother
unto her. And II shall be that the first
born which she bareth shall succeed In
the name of his brother which Is dead,
that his name be not put out OF Israel,
etc.
This laE was to preserve inheritance
in the families TO which they belonged.
As there was no law against polygamy,
there was nothing to exempt married
man from marrying his brothers
widow. Thelypthora, Vol. /, page 1903
1871. $50, 267; Vol 2, page 2i4, iO2.
Martin Luther, the great religious
reformer, In a consultation with other
reformers at Wittemberg decided that
for a man TO have two wives was not
contrary TO the teachings of the Bible,
and gave consent 10 Philip the Land
grave OF Hesse to mary a plural wife.
There are two or three very strong
arguments In favor of the Rev. Madan's
reasoning which he must have over
looked. They are as follows:
David had many wives, which he
married at different times, these plural
marriages II seemed pleased the Lord.
But when David caused the death OF
Uriah to marry uriahs wife, the kill
Ing OF Uriah disple8sed the Lord.
II Kings, Ky, 81 Because David did
that which was right In the sight OF the
Lord. and turned not aside from any
thing that he commanded him all the
days OF his life, save only In the case
OF Uriah the Hittite."
Also Isaiah, " |. And IN that day
seven women shall take hold Of one
man, saying, we will eat our own bread.
and wear our own apparel; only let us
be called by thy name. 10 take away
our reproach" In | Kings. ~. s, In
Glbeon the Lord appeared unto Solo
mon In dream by night and God said,
Ask what shall give thee" solomon
asked God for wisdom. In ! Kings, w.
20 and go And God gave solomon
wisdom and understanding exceeding
much and largeness OF heart even as
the sand that IL on the sea shore And
Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom
Of all the children OF the last country