Toto

From a non-Christian perspective, it seems that the rules that YHWH gave the Israelites were part of a bargain (the covenant) - they would follow a bunch of picky rules based on sympathetic magic, and YHWH would bless them in battle as they slaughtered their enemies. The rewards for following the rules were to be here on earth. There was no "getting into the Kingdom of Heaven" or any other sort of salvation.

As centuries passed, the Jews learned that following the 613 commands did not protect them in battle, and also learned a more sophisticated philosophy from the neighboring pagans. An offshoot of the Jews known as Christians dumped the law altogether, but somehow have a hard time rationalizing why.