Genesis 6:5; 8:21 - The Intentions of the Heart

How God Saw the Human Heart and what He did about it

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of

his heart was only evil continually. – Genesis 6:5 ESV

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth – Genesis 8:21 ESV

By the days of Noah the effect of sin on the earth was becoming very evident. Adam’s son Cain had killed his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy. Lamech, his descendant boasted one day:

“I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.” Genesis 4:23 ESV

Broken relationships and murder were not the only indications of sin in the world of that day.  Genesis 5 traces the family line from Adam to Noah.  What is striking about this genealogy is that the lifespan in that chapter is from 969 to 777 years. By the time we get to Genesis 11, however, the lifespan is reduced from 500 to 205. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all died under the age of 200. Something significant is happening here. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could expect to live 700 years less than their first ancestors. The effect of the curse of sin on human lifespan was quite dramatic. In our day, even with all our medical interventions and scientific advances, we cannot expect to live even half as long as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Consider what God saw when he looked down on the inhabitants of the earth in Noah’s day:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. – Genesis 6:5 ESV

God looks deep into the heart of humankind and what did He see? Genesis 6:5 tells us that He saw wickedness. When God created man in Genesis 1:27 He looked at what He had formed and called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The word translated “wickedness” is רַע raʼ and speaks of evil, harm, misery, trouble or wretchedness. When Adam and Eve opened their heart to the knowledge of evil, this was the result. That knowledge polluted their whole being. Though created good, the knowledge of evil corrupted their thoughts, attitudes and actions destroying their relationship with God and each other.

Notice the extent of this corruption. Genesis 6:5 tells us that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The word “intention” here is יֵצֶר yēṣer and refers to the imagination or thoughts conjured up in the mind. Every thought of the human mind was only evil. There was no thought for God. Every imagination of their mind was in one way or another impacted by sin and evil. This was not just some of the times but continually. Their mind never stopped conjuring up evil schemes that had nothing to do with God or His ways.Th

The evil of that day so grieved God’s heart that He regretted making man. Notice how the writer of Genesis put it:

6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

The sinful thoughts and imaginations of humankind “grieved God to his heart.” The heart is the seat of emotions, feelings, passions and desires. It is where our deepest pain is stored and our greatest hurts felt. There is no greater grief than that which comes from the heart. God watched the people He had created to have fellowship with Him imagine evil continually. He saw the devastation of sin and its curse in their lives impacting every decision and action. He watched humanity drowning in a sea of evil by their own choice. They no longer heard His voice. They no longer saw Him or recognized Him. There was no passion in their heart left for God. He was a stranger to them, and an enemy to everything that they now wanted in life.

What was particularly grievous to the Lord is found in Genesis 8:21:

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth – Genesis 8:21a ESV

Notice the phrase, “the intentions of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” The word translated “youth” is נָעוּר nāʼūr which speaks of a child. The idea is that from the earliest age there is already evidence of evil in the human heart. The Psalmist David put it this way:

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.- Psalm 51:5

David confesses his adulterous affair in this Psalm by recognizing that he was a sinner from his mother’s womb. He had at the very earliest recollection a bent to sin and evil.

Speaking about the people of Israel, the prophet Isaiah said:

8 You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel. - Isaiah 48:8

“Before birth you were called a rebel,” Isaiah told his people. We often hear people speak about the “innocence of youth,” but the Bible paints a different picture. God looked down and saw that every imagination of the thoughts of man was only evil continually from his youth, a rebel before birth, conceived as a sinner and given birth as one who needed forgiveness and cleansing. That would have been the end of the story if it were not for the mercy of God through His Son Jesus Christ. Writing to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul said:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

While the first creation of God turned its back on Him, through His Son Jesus Christ there is now a new creation. The old nature crucified, a new is born. Past sins forgiven, we are reconciled with God and given a new heart and mind through the work of His Son and the ministry of His Spirit. We become new creatures in Jesus Christ. Do you know this transformation of God in your life today? Have you been changed and made a child of God? Cry out to Him today. Ask Him to crucify that sinful and rebellious flesh and give you a new heart.