An Excuse or An Answer

Not long ago much of the country was ground to a halt by winter weather. Certainly those at the Bill Rice Ranch were not exempt from that. There was a lot of ice and many trees came down. Things just slowed down. I was traveling at that time, and much of my discussion with people on the Ranch was about how we were going to keep doing what we do at the Ranch with the ice and inclement weather. In some cases we didn’t do what we normally do. We closed down the day school. We changed the classes for the college. We changed the work structure for those of us who work on the Ranch. That was in keeping with common sense for safety.

It is funny how easy it is to stop something that we don’t really wish to do when there is an obstacle that comes up, and how we can find ways to overcome the same obstacle when it is something we want to do. For example, if there is bad weather, we are hoping that school is cancelled, but if there is bad weather, it is not going to keep us from going on vacation. Those are two different things, one that we don’t want to do and one that we do want to do. There are obstacles that either we yield to or overcome.

The truth is, you will either find an excuse or find an answer. Demonstrating this is a story in Numbers 9 that talks about the Passover. This was a very important celebration and was to be done according to the ceremonies God had given. God basically says in Deuteronomy 9:3, “You will keep the Passover.” It was a remembrance of what God had done and was indicative of what God would do through His Savior, the Lord Jesus. Verse 5 says, “According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.”

Here is where the obstacle came. In verses 6 and following there was an instance where men came to Moses and said, “We are ceremonially unclean, defiled by the dead body of a man.” There were a number of things that could render a person in Israel ineligible to partake of the Passover. For instance, if someone died and they were taking care of the burial and so on, they were considered ceremonially unclean. So, those men in verse 7 went to Moses and asked him what they were to do because they were defiled. They said, “Wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?”

There was an appointed way and there was an appointed season. The appointed way was a problem because they were defiled. The appointed season was a problem because that was right then and there was no time to become clean and still partake. Verse 8 is a good example of what we ought to do in such situations. Moses said, “Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” The upshot is that God made a provision. He wasn’t going to jeopardize His qualifications, but He gave another time when they could both be cleansed and still be able to keep the Passover. So, in our lives, we are either going to find an excuse or find an answer, find a way.

Three things are required. First, there is desire. These men were prohibited from keeping the Passover, but they wanted to keep the Passover. In verse 13 the Bible says in contrast to the provision God had made for such men, “But the man that is clean, and not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover… shall bear his sin.” So, there is a difference between not wanting to do the right thing and not knowing how to do the right thing. Desire is important. Do I have a desire to do what is right that is greater than to do what is easy?

Second, there is determination. These men were determined to do the right thing and they wanted to know if there was a way it could be done. In verse 14 God addressed those who were strangers, not of the children of Israel but wanting to follow God Jehovah and Israel. God said, “Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.” God made provision for people not born in Israel who wished to keep the Passover. Verse 14 says, “If a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover… according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him born in the land.” So, we are talking about someone who wanted to, was determined to, follow God and His people. So, you are either going to find an excuse or an answer. Do you have a desire and a determination?

Third, there is humility. It is inquiry. These men went because of their desire and determination to know and do the right thing. They asked Moses and Moses didn’t just make up an answer. He asked God and God made provision.

I don’t know what it is today that you need to do. Maybe you don’t know what you need to do, but this is about determination, not being self-willed, not doing whatever you want to do, but a determination to do what God wants. There may be some roadblocks between you and what you feel you ought to do, but don’t be discouraged and don’t be put off. You will either find an excuse or an answer. You can find a way. This requires desire, determination, and an inquiry of God’s mind concerning your matter.