Second Chances

Numbers 9-12

Moving into year two, there were some Israelites that were not going to be able to participate in the Passover celebration because they were unclean due to contact with a dead person, they wanted a second chance to worship and remember and celebrate, so Moses went to the Lord for advice. The Lord told Moses that they could have a second chance the next month, but only if they had a good excuse, if they had just missed it, then they would need to be cut off from the camp. A clear distinction was drawn between those who truly desired to worship the Lord but couldn't, from those who just couldn't be bothered. Those whose commitment level was too low to care about the Passover could not be allowed to stay with the Israelite community because their attitudes would spread to others.

A similar attitude was found among some who were grumbling because they didn't have any meat. They wanted to return to Egypt for the meat. The Lord provided more than enough meat for them as he brought in quail from the sea, but the Lord's anger burned against the complainers, because their attitudes were infectious and their gluttony proved their end. For some sin their was a second chance, but other sins are too dangerous to allow to continue in the community.