Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this thing that you have done? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from you; but they will become like thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” Now when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept. (vv. 1-4)

This chapter describes the decline of the Israelites after they entered the Promised Land. God wanted to punish the Canaanites for their evil deeds and commanded the Israelites to drive them out. However, the Israelites failed to drive them out and instead served other gods. As a result, God used the Canaanites to oppress the Israelites because they did not follow Him wholeheartedly. After Joshua died, God appointed judges one after another to lead the Israelites.

Then the Lord raised up judges who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they committed infidelity with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do the same as their fathers. And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who tormented and oppressed them. (vv. 16-18)

God did not choose the Israelites because they were righteous. Instead, He chose one man, Abraham, and made his descendants into a nation to teach us about the Kingdom. Even before entering the Promised Land, some of them—if not most—were already following foreign gods.

“Now then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)

It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5)

Strictly speaking, it was not the Canaanites who caused the Israelites to worship idols. Their hearts remained blind and corrupt even after forty years in the wilderness. They witnessed countless miracles and saw everything God had done for them, yet they still turned to idols.

“Now then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)

Through all this, God teaches us about the curse of the conditional covenant. Under the conditional covenant, there is no grace. Grace cannot exist within the framework of a covenant that depends on human obedience. From beginning to end, the Bible presents one consistent message: grace is truly grace only under the unconditional covenant. Jesus Christ had to accomplish what was necessary to make this possible. However, we should not interpret His work as meeting the conditions of the conditional covenant, because He is fundamentally different from Adam.

Many false theologians and ministers have tried to mix grace with works. Yet we can do nothing apart from God’s grace. The salvation we receive through Jesus Christ is not taken away because of our failures or our works. Even as believers, we continue to face temptation and are enticed by sin every day.

Many people become Christians when they hear the good news. However, church leaders often burden them with countless rules, as though their salvation could be lost because of their works. The good news is truly good because it is received freely. Eternal life is God’s gift, not a reward earned or maintained by human effort. No additional works are required to secure the salvation that God has given.

The Son of God became human not to fulfill the conditions of the conditional covenant, but to free us from it. To accomplish this, He became the one and only perfect sacrifice, reconciling God with His people. His mission was not a condition imposed on Him in the same way that Adam was placed under a conditional covenant. Although His obedience brought about our salvation, we should not describe His work as fulfilling the conditions of the conditional covenant. Rather, His sacrifice established the unconditional covenant through which God’s grace is freely given to His people.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:47-49)