Numbers 9:13

The whole ritual should be observed and the only difference should be the month.

It is very interesting to see how many times in this chapter God says at it appointed time or says exactly when to do it. The first month, 14th day at twilight, second month, 14th day at twilight—at its appointed time. It is about six or seven times that He says that. And usually when God repeats things like that, it is important. So I just wanted to emphasize that, in effect, what God does here is He pronounces a curse on anyone who without excuse does not keep the Passover. And He is particularly talking about here the first Passover, the one that is on Nisan. If we flippantly or rebelliously or in a careless attitude miss the first Passover, He says there is no second Passover for you and that person should be cut off from the people.

It is very, very serious matter here that He says that such a person should be cut off because what it is basically doing is, a person who would do such a thing is repudiating the covenant and thus repudiating God, rejecting God by saying, I do not want to keep the Passover. It is inconvenient for me or I am not going to do that this year. I have got other things to do, or whatever the excuse happens to be. God says, "If you do not fit these categories, being unclean or sick or how you want to put it, and you're not on a journey, then there is no excuse." It is rather rigid, very rigid, but it is very important.