Genesis 6:6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man...

Lily

Looking Up
This verse breaks my heart. I'd like to understand it better.

Starting in Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Genesis 6:7 The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky: for I am sorry that I have made them."

(quoted from the NASB)

We know that God knows the end from the beginning. He foreknew before he created man what it would come to. But He still was sorry that he made man. Yet, he did not totally destroy man as we know.

I was wondering what is at the heart of God in these passages. Does someone understand and could give some insight? Thank you.
 

clouds

Well-Known Member
God's Holiness requires that He act in judgement at certain times when man's wickedness goes too far.
(Isaiah 28:21) mentions such a time as this when God needed to resort to what is called "His strange work" of judgement upon the wicked who flagrantly flaunted their rebellion against a Holy God.
God does not have "any pleasure at all in that the wicked should die" (Ezekiel 18:23) because God's heart is for man, who He created to share His Love with forever. There would obviously be regret that He had to destroy those who rejected His long suffering love and mercy. They fearlessly ignored God as their Creator, Lord, and Sustainer in the extreme wickedness of their evil hearts.
God knows the the end from the beginning as you said, but His heart would still be grieved and sorry as He performed the judgement needed to stop the extreme contamination of evil that mankind had fallen into. It could be compared to removing a cancer that would kill in short order unless cut out and removed immediately.
 

Lily

Looking Up
Even gotquestions.org/ didn't have anything about this subject. Maybe there just isn't enough information given in the Bible about it.
 

Rez63

Active Member
Even gotquestions.org/ didn't have anything about this subject. Maybe there just isn't enough information given in the Bible about it.
I don't have an answer for you Lily. But we can come to understand things in God's Word if we do, what I call
"PROVERBS 2 IT"! Prov 2:1-6. Dig, search, pray, cry out for understanding! !
Sometimes God wants us to really dig into His word for the Truth. It doesn't always come easy. Sometimes God will hide meaning so we will have to dig for it. Prov 25:2.
When I come to a passage that I don't get, I will, like Jacob in Gen 32:22-29, "wrestle with the Lord" until He give's me understanding. As Jacob said, " I will NOT let you go until you bless me".
Sometimes I will speak the verse out loud. Memorize it. Keep asking, "What does this mean, Lord?" . And eventually He opens up my eyes to the the Truth if the verse.
 

Lily

Looking Up
I don't have an answer for you Lily. But we can come to understand things in God's Word if we do, what I call
"PROVERBS 2 IT"! Prov 2:1-6. Dig, search, pray, cry out for understanding! !
Sometimes God wants us to really dig into His word for the Truth. It doesn't always come easy. Sometimes God will hide meaning so we will have to dig for it. Prov 25:2.
When I come to a passage that I don't get, I will, like Jacob in Gen 32:22-29, "wrestle with the Lord" until He give's me understanding. As Jacob said, " I will NOT let you go until you bless me".
Sometimes I will speak the verse out loud. Memorize it. Keep asking, "What does this mean, Lord?" . And eventually He opens up my eyes to the the Truth if the verse.

Good advice! I'm going to set my mind to it and see what the Lord reveals. It may take some time. Thank you for this method of searching harder and longer to find a more complete answer.

Also, I want to thank Ladyinwaiting and clouds for their posts. I read and thoughtfully consider all responses. I really appreciate them!
 

Jan51

Well-Known Member
If you look in Strong's Concordance, the term "repented" (KJV) or "sorry" (NASB) has the meaning "sigh, breathe strongly." We think of "sorry" as implying that we made a mistake, that we shouldn't have done something; this meaning is not consistent with the nature of God. Think of how you would sigh deeply if your child was going off the rails and you had to do or say something that was necessary but really pained you.
 

Lily

Looking Up
If you look in Strong's Concordance, the term "repented" (KJV) or "sorry" (NASB) has the meaning "sigh, breathe strongly." We think of "sorry" as implying that we made a mistake, that we shouldn't have done something; this meaning is not consistent with the nature of God. Think of how you would sigh deeply if your child was going off the rails and you had to do or say something that was necessary but really pained you.

That was very helpful, thank you. I don't have a concordance. I knew there was an answer and I thank God for answering my prayer (and quickly).

Thinking of "sorry" or "repented" isn't consistent with God's nature, like you stated. That's where I was stuck.
 
God's Holiness requires that He act in judgement at certain times when man's wickedness goes too far.
(Isaiah 28:21) mentions such a time as this when God needed to resort to what is called "His strange work" of judgement upon the wicked who flagrantly flaunted their rebellion against a Holy God.
God does not have "any pleasure at all in that the wicked should die" (Ezekiel 18:23) because God's heart is for man, who He created to share His Love with forever. There would obviously be regret that He had to destroy those who rejected His long suffering love and mercy. They fearlessly ignored God as their Creator, Lord, and Sustainer in the extreme wickedness of their evil hearts.
God knows the the end from the beginning as you said, but His heart would still be grieved and sorry as He performed the judgement needed to stop the extreme contamination of evil that mankind had fallen into. It could be compared to removing a cancer that would kill in short order unless cut out and removed immediately.
 

Chris

Administrator
Staff member
If He Already Knew, Why Was He Sorry?
Thursday, June 14th, 2012

Question. Gen. 6:6 says, “And the Lord was sorry He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” I am so perplexed by this statement. God, being omniscient, had fore-knowledge of everything. So why was He sorry He had made man knowing what they would do? Being a parent, I can understand the grief in His heart.

Answer. The fact that God knows the end from the beginning doesn’t change the way He feels when His children cause bad things to happen. If He didn’t have those feelings He wouldn’t be a loving God. He knew if they had just followed His instructions all the consequences could have been avoided. But He had given them the right to make their own decisions and by Genesis 6 He knew he was going to have to punish them for their disobedience. His righteousness demanded it.

This was the second of seven chances He will have given mankind to live in a manner that pleases Him, and when all is said and done we will have failed all seven. That’s why in eternity He will remove man’s sin nature along with all desire to disobey Him (1 Cor. 15:24). At that point there will finally be peace in His creation.

https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/if-he-already-knew-why-was-he-sorry/
 

RonJohnSilver

Well-Known Member
Note also that the opening of Gen. 6 has the mention of the Nephilim, which, some say, indicates large scale demonic influence or even mating among men and angels. There are several articles, I think, on this forum about that. So, it's possible that the widespread evil at that time is partly man's nature plus the active and intimate involvement of demons. It's an intriguing but somewhat controversial and speculative subject, however, God put it in the Bible for a reason, so it is worthy of study.
 

Brother Albert R.

Jesus loved us and said we should Love our enemies
This verse breaks my heart. I'd like to understand it better.

Starting in Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Genesis 6:7 The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky: for I am sorry that I have made them."

(quoted from the NASB)

We know that God knows the end from the beginning. He foreknew before he created man what it would come to. But He still was sorry that he made man. Yet, he did not totally destroy man as we know.

I was wondering what is at the heart of God in these passages. Does someone understand and could give some insight? Thank you.
I like this question and also the replies that you have gotten. I can imagine God creating everything good and also loving everything He has created. If God did not love His creation after He made it then He would not have been sorry about the condition it deteriorated into. As so may others have replied already, I would also add that if someone can never be emotionally hurt, then they are also someone who can never love...even Jesus wept. Thinking about what affects us in our love relationships, I believe we then can get a better glimpse into what pleases our Lord and what displeases Him. When Love created the heavens and the earth He knew it would one day kill Him...but He also knew that, one day, you would freely love him back.

God bless you,
your brother in Christ,
Albert R.
 
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