As foreshadowed by the words of Joshua in our readings today, the Israelites will NOT remain loyal to God – they will intermarry with the survivors of the nations, and their gods will become a snare and a trap for them. A cycle will develop: the people will rebel against God, God will allow their enemies to conquer them, the people will cry out to God, God will rescue them. Gratitude for freedom and material blessings will not be enough to convince the people to keep the law of Moses. The covenant will be broken by broken humanity.
And so, God will enact a new covenant, a covenant in the blood of his son Jesus, a covenant based not on performance, but grace. A covenant based not on gratitude for blessings provided, but unconditional love. In this new covenant, God will Father instead of Lord, God will INITIATE sacrifice instead of DEMAND sacrifice, God will forgive instead of punish.
And in this new covenant, we will respond as God's adopted children, not his grateful servants. We will respond with the stronger loyalty based on family and identity. We will not try to gain God's favour or clear our debt of gratitude, because we know that is not possible. Instead, we will live according to God's ideals for our own sake, knowing that it will be for us the path of abundant life. We will follow in the way of Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, living in the joy of the life to come, and the goodness of our loving Father.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we praise you for the many times you have saved your people, and we praise you for saving us from sin, death, and Satan. Help us to live as you would direct us, and help us to be an example for the people around us, in Jesus name, amen.