Why is God's heart deeply troubled?
“The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate…’” – Genesis 7:1-2 NIV
It didn’t take long for mankind to mess up God’s good creation. As we read through the first few chapters of Genesis, we see the brutality and sinfulness of humans on full display. From Adam and Eve’s rebellion to Cain’s murder of Abel to Lamech, one of Cain’s murderous descendants, the world was spiraling downward. This sinfulness reaches a head in the sixth chapter of Genesis. We read that, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled” (Genesis 6:5-6). It seems as though it couldn’t get any worse. Something had to be done or evil would triumph forever.
And so, God did something drastic. He decided to send a flood that would cleanse the world of all rebellion, violence, and sinfulness. But it would also wipe away those who were committing these heinous crimes. Fortunately, there was one righteous family. As God looked down on the world he saw a single faithful man – Noah.