We Grieve His Heart: Genesis 6:5-8

God may have wanted to destroy mankind, but He desired to save mankind even more.  This is a subtle theme to be found all over the Bible.  God’s anger is deep, but His grace and mercy are deeper.  God’s anger may burn for a generation or two, but His grace and mercy burn forever.

The Lord regretted making mankind on the earth, and it grieved His heart.  There are not many verses in the Bible with a sadder tone than this one.  It’s one thing to sin against God and disappoint Him.  It’s another to make God regret His decision to make humanity entirely.

It’s worse than that, truthfully.  The sinfulness of mankind is so great that God plans on destroying mankind and all the animals upon the earth with them.  Mankind’s ways are so grievous God desires to return to a blank slate.

Don’t forget God made mankind in His own image.  God had such high hopes!  He wanted us to be like Him.  He wanted us to think like Him, to have His desires, and to know His love.  He wanted to dwell with us forever in the perfection of His creation.  He made us in His image because He had the best of plans for our existence.

Now, only a couple of handfuls of generations later, we mucked it up completely.  We have abandoned His ways.  We have taken up a mantel of shortsightedness and are making decisions based on our wants rather than our desires.  We make decisions based on what we think is best for us rather than what God says is best for everyone around us.  In only a few generations we managed to go from His perfection to His desire to do away with us.

There really isn’t any surprise.  I won’t speak about anyone else, but I have difficulty going from Sunday to Sunday without feeling the effects of sin.  I can go even more narrow.  I find it difficult to go from one devotional time – where I am intentionally focusing on God’s ways – to the next devotional time without feeling the effects of sin.  Perhaps I can go even more narrow.  In truth, I find it difficult to go from one interaction in the world to the next without feeling the effect of sin.

Human beings are under the influence of sin.  It wages a consistent war within us.  That’s part of the problem that God has in these verses.  How will God bring about a righteous redeemer if the world is consistently turning away from Him?

On this stage enters Noah.  Noah is not a perfect man, but He is a man of faith.  Noah finds favor in God’s eyes.  God may desire to destroy creation, but He gives Noah a chance.  God allows Noah to be a righteous person who survives so God can still bring His redeemer.  God may have wanted to destroy mankind, but He desired to save mankind even more.