Creator, Father, King #46

The LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

BY THE TIME OF Noah, at least ten generations since Creation, humanity had reached its lowest point. People were finding seemingly new ways to dishonor God every day.

Here’s how Genesis 6:5-8 describes it:

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the LORD. (emphasis added)

Humanity had completely forsaken its Creator and become so wicked that God actually said he regretted creating them at all. That’s quite a statement.

At first glance, though, this seems to pose a theological conundrum: Can God make a mistake? Can the Lord God Almighty—the omnipotent, omniscient ruler of the universe—actually blunder? Does he need “do-overs” from time to time, like the rest of us?

Not at all.

What’s It Mean?

God is holy. He never makes mistakes. He is perfectly wise and just in all he does. Every decision he makes comes from his perfectly good, loving character. As we learned in the January 18 and 19 devotions, the clear, consistent witness of Scripture is that God never changes his mind.

When God said he was sorry for making humanity, he was not apologizing for an error he made. He was expressing divine sorrow over human depravity. God grieved over the sinful choices that people were making. He was cut to the heart over the righteous judgment they would suffer.

Genesis 6:5-8 doesn’t present us with a dilemma about God at all. Rather, it powerfully affirms God’s hatred of sin and his tender heart for the lost. Remember, as 2 Peter 3:9 says, “He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

We serve a loving God who grieves over human sin. Praise God for that!

Now What?

Read the entire Noah’s ark account in Genesis chapters 6–9.

Did You Know?

A similar example of God’s sorrow over human sin is his rejection of King Saul in 1 Samuel 15 (see specifically verses 11 and 35).