Scripture Focus: 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. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved" in His heart. 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."
(Gen. 6:5-7 NASB)
As I was reading Genesis 6:5-7, a question arose in my mind. Could the eternal creator somehow change His mind? The scripture was recorded as humanity began to become more and more wicked upon the earth. As our creator, the Lord couldn't have somehow made a mistake. Humanity couldn't have had some type of malfunction like a machine. God doesn't have to start over and throw out the parts that were made wrong. No, that couldn't be the case. As I looked closer, I came to one conclusion, the free will of man and God's Word.
I went on to read the cross reference scriptures found in the popplet below. They all show God's desire for a relationship with His creation and His warning of the consequences of turning away. They show that God extends grace and mercy to humanity. However, they also show that God continues speaking to His creation through his apostles, ministers, and prophets because of our own fleshly desires. His standard for humanity doesn't change. The result of disobedience doesn't change.
(Gen. 6:5-7 NASB)
As I was reading Genesis 6:5-7, a question arose in my mind. Could the eternal creator somehow change His mind? The scripture was recorded as humanity began to become more and more wicked upon the earth. As our creator, the Lord couldn't have somehow made a mistake. Humanity couldn't have had some type of malfunction like a machine. God doesn't have to start over and throw out the parts that were made wrong. No, that couldn't be the case. As I looked closer, I came to one conclusion, the free will of man and God's Word.
I went on to read the cross reference scriptures found in the popplet below. They all show God's desire for a relationship with His creation and His warning of the consequences of turning away. They show that God extends grace and mercy to humanity. However, they also show that God continues speaking to His creation through his apostles, ministers, and prophets because of our own fleshly desires. His standard for humanity doesn't change. The result of disobedience doesn't change.
You see, we belong to God. We we created in His image. He is not created in our image. His will, not ours. His way, not ours. Our creator's word is set and settled. He has to keep His own word because it can't be voided. It must go forth. It's cause and effect.
Here's a real world example that popped in my mind as I studied. I pictured myself as an educator. I have a contract with my school district. That contract is written out, read over, and signed (Agreed upon). I thought to myself, "What if I tried to go work for another district while still under contract. Or even worse, what if I were abusing the children of my district, not teaching, or even stealing from other staff or students." All of these things would breach the contract.
Notice that the wording of the contract never changed. The agreement never changed. The district expected me to adhere to the guidelines, but some poor choices were made in the example. If that would cause me to lose my teaching license and contract, then I shudder to think of my choices of rejecting the one true God on a spiritual level. God is our creator, yet we worship other gods, family, or even our careers. We sin against the Holy One but expect Him to somehow look away. Yet, He is oh so merciful. God knew that we couldn't keep His way on our own, so our power comes through Christ. Yet, many reject Him.
So God's response in Genesis 6 was a result of the heart of mankind turning to wickedness and away from God. God didn't decide that he had made a mistake. Humanity had left His presence and was destroyed. However, Noah found grace because He remained with the life source.
Here's a real world example that popped in my mind as I studied. I pictured myself as an educator. I have a contract with my school district. That contract is written out, read over, and signed (Agreed upon). I thought to myself, "What if I tried to go work for another district while still under contract. Or even worse, what if I were abusing the children of my district, not teaching, or even stealing from other staff or students." All of these things would breach the contract.
Notice that the wording of the contract never changed. The agreement never changed. The district expected me to adhere to the guidelines, but some poor choices were made in the example. If that would cause me to lose my teaching license and contract, then I shudder to think of my choices of rejecting the one true God on a spiritual level. God is our creator, yet we worship other gods, family, or even our careers. We sin against the Holy One but expect Him to somehow look away. Yet, He is oh so merciful. God knew that we couldn't keep His way on our own, so our power comes through Christ. Yet, many reject Him.
So God's response in Genesis 6 was a result of the heart of mankind turning to wickedness and away from God. God didn't decide that he had made a mistake. Humanity had left His presence and was destroyed. However, Noah found grace because He remained with the life source.
