The God of Second Chances

The Bible is filled with stories of people who were given a second chance.  Some, like Cain (in Genesis 4), didn't take advantage of that second chance.  Then you have Jonah who finally chose to do the right thing, but not with a happy heart.  And then you have my FAVORITE second chance story!!

Everyone always thinks of the Virtuous Woman (Proverbs 31) as the great model of how we, as ladies, should live the Christian life.  And it is a great example of a virtuous woman, but no such woman ever existed.  Proverbs 31 was not written about any one woman in particular, but rather it is a measuring stick by which we, as ladies, can measure ourselves.

Obviously, the "virtuous woman" didn't need a second chance.  She was so perfect that none of us could ever live up to her standard.  But, there was someone else in this chapter who was given a second chance.

Long before the chapter was written, the lady who taught her son what would make a woman virtuous, was given a second chance.  The writer of  Proverbs 31 is Solomon.  Solomon's father was David, the great king of Israel.  Solomon's mother was Bathsheba.

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We know that David and Bathsheba committed adultery and a son was born to them.  The baby didn't live long, but soon, David and Bathsheba had another son.  They named him Solomon.  We don't hear much of Bathsheba after that and her name is not mentioned in Proverbs 31.  But, we do know that Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs - including this chapter.

How awesome is it that God used a woman that some would consider worthless because of what she had done??  Not only did He use her; He used her to teach women the world over, how to be a "virtuous"!

God didn't consider her useless.  God used her to teach her son what to look for in a wife.  So, even though it was Solomon's pen that wrote the chapter, it was his mother's teachings that he was writing. 

So, in a sense, it was Bathsheba that God used to teach the world what a virtuous woman is!  I'm so glad God gives us second chances after we fail Him!!  God did that for Bathsheba and he can do it for you and me too!

I find this encouraging, and I hope you do too!

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