Genesis 6:5-7 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth… Marvellous words indeed, words such as no man could have ventured to use respecting God, words too strong and bold for anyone to have employed but God Himself. I. What the words DO NOT MEAN. 1. They do not mean that God's purpose had been frustrated. That cannot fail. 2. They do not mean that an unexpected crisis had arisen. God foresees all. 3. They do not mean that God is subject to like passions and changes as we are. He does not vary as we vary, nor repent as we repent. Instability is the property of the creature, not of the Creator. 4. They do not mean that He has ceased to care for His creatures. Wrath, indeed, has gone out against the transgressor; yet neither man himself, nor his habitation, the earth, has been overlooked by God — far less, hated and spurned. The words intimate neither the coldness nor the dislike of the Creator toward the creature. It is something very widely different which they convey; a sadder, tenderer feeling; a feeling in which, not indifference, but profound compassion, is the prevailing element. II. What the words DO MEAN. 1. That God is represented to us here as looking at events or facts simply as they are, without reference to the past or future at all. 2. That God's purposes do not alter God's estimate of events, or His feelings respecting individuals and their conduct. 3. That God is looking at the scene just as a man would look at it, and expressing Himself just as a man would have done in such circumstances. He sees all the present misery and ruin which the scene presents, and they affect Him according to their nature; and as they affect Him, so does He speak, in the words of man. But now let us look at the words of our text — "repenting," — "grieving at the heart."(1) "Repent." The word frequently occurs in the same connection as in our text (Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:11, 35; Jeremiah 26:13, 19). In these and other like passages it denotes that change of mind which is produced towards an object by an alteration of circumstances. (2) "Grieve." The word used in reference to man is found in such places as 2 Samuel 19:2; and, in reference to God, in such as Psalm 78:40; Isaiah 63:10. In these passages the word denotes simply and truly what we call "grief"; and then, in the passage before us, as if to deepen the intensity of the expression, and to show how thoroughly real was the feeling indicated, it is added, "at His heart." The grief spoken of is as true as it is profound. It is not the grief of words. It is not the grief of fancy or sentiment. It is true sorrow of heart. We come now to ask, Why did the Lord thus grieve at His heart? 1. He grieved to see the change which sin had made in the work of His hands. Once it was "very good," and in this He had rejoiced. Now, how altered! Creation was a wreck. Man's glory had departed. The fair image of his Maker was gone! 2. He grieved at the dishonour thus brought upon Himself. It was, indeed, but a temporary dishonour; it was one which He would soon repair; but still, it was an obscuration of His own fair character; it was a clouding of His glory; it was an eclipse, however transient. 3. He grieved at man's misery. Man had not been made for misery. Happiness, like a rich jewel, had been entrusted to him. He had flung it away, as worthless and undesirable. He had offered it for sale to every passer-by; nay, he had cast it from him as vile. This wretchedness filled His soul, and overshadowed this once blessed earth. How, then, could God but grieve? 4. He grieved that now He must be the inflictor of man's misery. There had, for long years, been an alternative. He could be gracious; He could be long suffering. But now this alternative is denied. Such was the accumulation of sin; such was its hatefulness; such were its aggravations, that grace can no longer hold out against righteousness; long suffering has exhausted itself, and judgment must take its course. (H. Bonar, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. |
    |