Here's an odd thought: maybe polygamy isn't quite such an evil as we all assume. Nelly Stienstra in 'YHWH is the husband of his people' explores the OT view of polygamy and shows that although 'the Hebrew ideal throughout the Old Testament period was a monogamous marriage, blessed with children,' nevertheless, 'Polygamy is tolerated, but only as a necessary evil, in the case of childlessness - apart from the harems of kings - and even enforced under certain circumstances when the violation of an unbetrothed virgin is involved, but it clearly does not make for a happy life.'

Hannah's misery, for example, in 1 Samuel 1, seems to result not only from her childlessness but also from her husband's transfer of his affections to his new wife. (I take the difficult phrase in v5 at its face value, so 'one portion in anger' and Elkanah's love to be past 'for he had loved her'.)

To show that polygamy was recognised as generally undesirable, Stienstra points to the laws regulating it (Leviticus 18:18 and Deuteronomy 21:15-17) which she suggests are 'obviously intended to reduce the unsettling effect of polygamy on a household.’

So clearly not the ideal, nor the intended norm, and a source of misery to some. But nonetheless permitted because childlessness was worse.

What are we to make of this in the new covenant era? Well, it's true that having children is not so important economically. Nor does it fulfil quite such a significant role in terms of our own understanding of our posterity. But children are still a sign of God's blessing and favour and covenant faithfulness.

It seems to me that the prevailing attitude in our society is that women have the right to have children when and how they choose. Natalie Evans, for instance, has been fighting in the courts for years to allow her to use the frozen embryos created with her former partner (husband?) despite his withdrawal of consent. Whatever you think about the ethics of the case (or lack thereof) it clearly demonstrates her strong sense of a right to have her own child.

Interesting that in the OT it was the husband who had the right to a child, even to the extent of taking a second wife if his first proved barren.

So, my question is - are there still circumstances in which polygamy might be permissible (even required?)? And is the bible's focus on the importance of having children a mandate for IVF or other forms of assisted conception? Or should we simply learn to be content with whatever blessing God does or doesn't choose to give us?