Deuteronomy 28 - Blessings and curses

I have to admit something. I've been of the thought that the "prosperity gospel" (for lack of a better term) is kind of garbage. What I mean by "Prosperity Gospel" is the thing that I've seen preached in various churches that says "If you believe in God then everything will go smoothly and well for you and you'll be financially rewarded for your faithfulness". I have a couple of problems with that. One is that I feel like it takes our eyes off Jesus. I think it causes us to have an ulterior motive in serving him. No longer are we serving him because of his incredible greatness and his unfailing love, now we're serving him because if we do we'll get a cottage by the lake (there's nothing wrong with a cottage by a lake, but first and foremost we must keep our eyes on Jesus). The other problem that I have is that I know some wonderful and faithful Christians that have had a hard life. God walked beside them through their trials, but they were not rewarded financially for their faithfulness. Are we to presume that they weren't as faithful as God wanted them to be? Was there something lacking in their faith that they weren't given an earthly reward?

So, then I read Deuteronomy 28. The first 14 verses outline the blessings that Israel will receive for their obedience: lots of kids, lots of livestock, defeat of their enemies, abundant prosperity. Verses 15-68 outline the horrors that they will endure for disobedience. I'm not sure what to do with this.

I am reminded of the story found in John 9 where Jesus and his disciples walk past a blind man and the disciples ask "Who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Deuteronomy 28:10 says "Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord." To me, this means that sometimes God uses hard situations to give us faith and sometimes he rewards faithfulness financially as an example to the world of his goodness and generosity. The point is not the reward. The point is pointing people to God - whatever the situation.