The Israelites were concerned primarily with worldly gains
“Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey…” - Deuteronomy 6:3
“Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land…” - Deuteronomy 6:18
“He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land – your grain, new wine and oil – the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” - Deuteronomy 7:13-15
These excerpts from Deuteronomy show Moses explaining to the Israelites the wonders and the benefits of their relationship with God. But interestingly, everything that Moses promises the Israelites is worldly! Indeed, the only mentions of heaven thus far are vague references to “the heavens.”
“To the Lord belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” - Moses, Deuteronomy 10:14
There has been no mention of a heaven as an afterlife. In fact, there’s been absolutely NO emphasis on an afterlife at all! One of the charges often leveled against Christianity is that it promises rewards only in a posited afterlife. Ironically, the Old Testament has made no such promises whatsoever! Everything the Lord has promised man has been of a worldly nature.
What motivation did the Israelites have for following the Lord? Surely none of them had any reason to believe that the Lord would provide for them in an afterlife; He makes no mention about one. I am vaguely familiar with the notion of Sheol, does the Old Testament ever allude to an afterlife? Do the Israelites (or modern Jews?) have any reason to follow the Lord other than for earthly gain?
If not, then what does that suggest about the notion of the immortality of the soul? Christians are especially worried (and rightfully so) about the conditions that their eternal soul meet with after their temporal existence terminates. But what basis does Christianity have for positing a heaven when it does not receive mention within the vastness that is the Old Testament? I have heard it said that many readers are struck by a seeming difference in the Lord’s personality between the old and new testaments. But all this is deserves further consideration later.
Right now, the most pertinent question is this: Are the Israelites of the Old Testament concerned only with worldly gain? Or is there reason to believe that they are also concerned with the immortal future of their souls?
