God Grieves (Genesis 6)

 God Grieves

The wickedness on the earth was terrible right before the flood. It tells us a lot about men and what they would be without the Spirit.

But God’s reaction to wickedness speaks volume of His character too.

Genesis 6 says the following:


[Gen 6:5-7 NKJV] 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."


He was grieved in His heart. It vexed and hurt Him in a way to see this wickedness. He did not like seeing humanity this way.

He had created humanity very good. Creation itself was not the problem.

But when purely looking at the state of humanity as it was back then God Himself was sorry that He had made man. He would destroy them.

God actually hates evil.
He hates the spirit of murder, stealing, adultery, idolatry, disrespect for authority, cursing, sabbath-breaking, lying and the evil lusts themselves. He hates when this forms every imagination of the heart. He just really hates evil.

And it makes Him grief.
Evil, our evil, has an effect on God Himself in that He is pained by it in a way. 

He does not wish to destroy, but wickedness compels Him to do so.
No more.

God was not sorry in the sense that if He knew this would happen, He would not have created humanity. He is all-knowing and knew this would happen already. And in His overarching plans He would still do the same.

But at that moment, looking at the wickedness of men, He grieved and felt sorrowful about the creation of men.

Is this what it had become?
All this shows that God Himself never intended evil. It is not in His character. If He had enforced His ideal way no sin would have ever been present.

But men had corrupted himself and Satan was on the loose.

This is the character of God. 

He hates evil and injustice so much, in fact, that it compelled Him to destroy.

Could we ever call Him careless about all the evil in the world seeing this?

We may confide and rest in the grieving heart of God.


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