What were people's thoughts and intentions like before the Law was given?
Before the Law was given at Mount Sinai, there was no written "Thou shalt" or "Thou shalt not," no organized worship. Scripture records that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually—wicked, dishonest, always scheming crooked deals.
Les explains that the Law was added 2,500 years after the human race began, because of transgressions and sin. Up until the Law was given at Mount Sinai, there was no system of worship, no organized religion as we call it, and no written "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not." So Genesis 6:5 gives the example: God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Les says this is all people could think about—things that were evil, wicked, and dishonest, always trying to cook up a crooked deal.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
More Questions
How wicked was man before the Law was given, according to Genesis 6:5?
Genesis 6:5 shows what humanity was like before the Law: every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually—all people could think about was evil, wickedness, and dishonesty, always trying to cook up a crooked deal.