Weird story out of Birmingham, Alabama from the Saturday evening Conference USA basketball game between the University of Houston and the University of Alabama - Birmingham. It seems at a critical point in the first half of the game, Tom Penders, coach of Houston, collapsed on the sideline immediately following a call by an official. When Penders collapsed, the officials thought he was objecting to their call and issued a technical foul on Penders. Seconds later, everyone in the gym recognized Penders was not objecting to a call but was in a distressed circumstance. He was eventually taken off the court on a stretcher while oxygen was administered by the emergency medical staff.

When order was restored and the game resumed, what did the officials do? They upheld the technical foul on Penders.

Yesterday, the Conference USA office issued a statement saying the officials "exercised poor judgment" in upholding the technical foul call against Penders.

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Is there ever a case to be made for exceptions to the rule? For example, the basketball rule book clearly states that unruly objections to the call of officials should result in a technical foul.

But in Penders's case, wouldn't it be reasonable to make an exception, following the spirit of the rule rather than the letter of the law?

There is an interesting, if not obscure, passage of scripture in 2 Chronicles 30.15-20 where God seems to have made an exception to a long-standing rule.

"They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the LORD. They they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood handed to them by the Levites. Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the LORD. Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God -- the LORD, the God of his fathers -- even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.' And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people."

Clearly, some of the people assembled for the Passover did not follow the prescribed method for partaking of the Passover meal. But their motive was pure and sincere and God made an exception, through the intercession of Hezekiah.

Does God ever do that today? And is it safe to build a theology for life based on exceptions God makes in Scripture?

I'm going to leave it at that today. Chew on it a bit and I'll be back tomorrow to talk about the contemporary implications of rules and exceptions in our walk of faith.