Hi @lakshmi
What an interesting observation! I had never really thought of that before. As I was reading over Deut 28, I looked at verses 9-10 again which say:
Deuteronomy 28:9–10 (HCSB): if you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by Yahweh’s name, and they will stand in awe of you.
Here, obedience to all God’s commandments is required. The blessings and curses for obeying or disobeying are obvious signs of physical prosperity or lack of. For the nations around, these would have been key signs that they were favoured by their God, and that their God was powerful. Farming, food and physical safety was the common language of all the cultures of that time, and these signs would have made sense to them.
I was immediately struck by the similarities in the words of Jesus in John 13:
John 13:34–35 (ESV): A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Here, Jesus is marking that the new sign that will reflect covenantal relationship with YHWH is that of the disciples’ love for one another. This seems to be the language that will be understood by cultures around them. It’s a relational outworking instead of a mechanical one.
I think the thing that distinguishes Christianity from every other religion is that deep relational connection with God. It’s a deeply personal one. I’m reminded of another conversation about the overarching theme of the Bible in which God is continually working to redeem humanity by bringing his presence back to dwell with us. No other religion has a meta narrative like that. Our goal is not physical prosperity in this life or eternity, although I think it may be a by-product in the New Heavens and Earth. Our goal is to dwell “in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6) because that was what we were made for.
Also, I think in the comparison of the 2 verses I’ve highlighted above, there’s a clear emphasis on witnessing to other nations. In the NT, emphasis of loving one another is the way in which the people of God can share the Gospel to those around them. Especially in the western culture where prosperity is assumed and strived for, prosperity would not really set apart the Christians from anyone else. Instead, loving one another with integrity, truth and selflessness, not seeking gain or reciprocation seems to be rare these days. Perhaps that is why the spiritual blessings are emphasised in the NT?