This idea of God needing to transform the human heart runs as a central thread through all of the scriptures. No matter how much humans try to love or be good or do the right thing, we consistently do the opposite. Humans need someone to free them from the condition of self-centeredness which leads to evil.

When we think of the word heart, the picture to place in our mind is that of a shepherd's staff representing authority. The other picture is of a tent representing what is inside. When these word pictures are combined they mean "authority inside." The scriptures teach that the heart is the center of a person's authority to decide. This is why we will soon see Joshua, in the book of Joshua, asking the people to choose.

Now therefore, [reverently] fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods;"

(Joshua 24:14-16 AMPC)

Unfortunately, forsaking the Lord to serve other God's is exactly what the people wound up doing. The rest of the story of the Hebrew scriptures seems to picture Israel as a rebellious and stiff-necked people who simply want to do what is right in their own eyes. God is looking for people that will humble themselves before Him and admit that they desperately need His help to transform their hearts of stone into hearts of love. The law was a tool that gave them a standard of healthy boundaries they could use to compare themselves against. It was designed to reveal their heart condition such that they would cry out for help. The people were not representing God well in the Earth and this was their original calling. God was setting in motion a plan to redeem not only them but all of the world in fulfillment to the promise He gave to Abraham when He said "through your offspring all of the nations of the Earth will be blessed." This was a promise God would keep regardless of the people's ability to do what was right.