The Bible Principle of Accommodation

Answering the Questions as to Why God Permitted Divorce, Capital Punishment, Slavery, War, Polygamy, and more….

I have so much more to tell you, but it is too much for you to accept now. (John 16:12; Easy to Read Version) God was faced with a problem. He needed a nation on the earth that He could work through in order to send forth the Messiah and bring about man's redemption. However, His chosen people, Israel, were strongly influenced by pagan thinking. Attempting to abruptly change their mindset to one of a high godly ideal was impossible. God had to work with the people at the level where they were at and progressively lead them to a "more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31). In the meantime, God had to accommodate their pagan thinking and regulate it to minimize its harmful effects. The principle of accommodation is a Bible interpretation principle that helps us to understand why certain things in Scripture were commanded or permitted, things that God did not endorse but only tolerated for a period of time.

Puny God

Thesis: God couldn't teach humanity how to be good until humanity was good enough to learn from God.