What is the meaning of Genesis 6:6? And the LORD regretted • Scripture portrays God as personal and responsive; He is not a distant force. Psalm 78:40 says, “How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!”—showing that God’s heart engages with human choices. • God’s regret is not surprise; Acts 15:18 affirms, “the works of God are known from eternity.” Rather, He is expressing real sorrow over sin’s devastation, much like a parent mourns a child’s rebellion while foreseeing its possibility. • 1 Samuel 15:11 records a similar moment: “I regret that I have made Saul king,” revealing that divine regret spotlights human failure, not divine error. that He had made man • At creation God declared humanity “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Sin twisted that goodness into violence and corruption (Genesis 6:5). • The phrase highlights the depth of mankind’s fall: from God’s delight in Genesis 1–2 to pervasive wickedness in Genesis 6. • Romans 5:12 points out how “sin entered the world through one man,” underlining that what God designed for fellowship had become the main source of earth’s grief. on the earth • The setting matters. Genesis 6:11 notes, “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence.” Creation itself, entrusted to humanity’s stewardship (Genesis 1:28), now groans under sin’s weight—echoed later in Romans 8:22. • Location clarifies the scope of the problem: sin is not abstract but embedded in everyday society, infecting the total environment God had pronounced good. • Psalm 24:1 reminds us, “The earth is the LORD’s,” so His grief is over His own possession being marred. and He was grieved in His heart • This climax shows divine emotion: God’s heart—not merely His verdict—aches. Isaiah 63:10 says, “They rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit,” reinforcing that grief is a recurring response to covenant breaking. • Ephesians 4:30 urges believers, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” indicating that God’s heart can still be pained by disobedience. • Such grief underscores love. Hebrews 12:6 states, “The Lord disciplines the one He loves,” so His sorrow flows from a relationship He treasures. summary Genesis 6:6 reveals a God who knows all yet feels genuine sorrow when His good creation chooses evil. His regret is not a concession of mistake but a lament over sin’s havoc, rooted in perfect love. He values humanity enough for their rebellion to wound His heart—yet that same heart will soon provide rescue through Noah’s ark and, ultimately, through Christ, proving that divine grief leads to redemption, not abandonment. |
    |