Genesis 6:1-8: a reflection

1When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. 3The LORD said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. 6The LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. 7The LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the LORD’s eyes.

As human wickedness spread across the earth before the flood, Scripture tells us something striking about how God regarded it: it did not leave him unmoved. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, the account says; and the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. God was not indifferent to human sin, not detached or unconcerned; the wickedness of the world grieved him, wounded his heart. Sin is not a small thing to God, shrugged off or overlooked; it grieves the very heart of the God who made us. That God's heart was grieved shows how seriously he takes sin, how deeply it pains him, how far it is from what he made us for. Human sin grieves God; it is a wound to his heart, not a matter of indifference. The wickedness of the world is a grief to the God who made it.

Notice how God regarded human wickedness: it grieved him in his heart. He was not a distant, unmoved observer of the world's sin; he saw it, and it grieved him, pained his heart. This tells us that sin is not a trivial thing to God, not something he overlooks or shrugs at; it wounds him, grieves the heart of the God who made us for better. We can think of God as either indifferent to sin or merely angry at it; but here we see him grieved by it, pained in his heart, sorrowing over the wickedness of the world he had made. This is a sobering and a moving thing: our sin is not lost on God; it grieves him. To grieve the heart of God is what sin does. And this grief is not cold; it is the grief of a Maker over the corruption of what he made good, of a heart wounded by the evil of those he loves. Sin grieves God because he cares. Our wickedness pains the heart of the God who made us.

That is worth taking to heart, for our sin is not a matter of indifference to God but grieves his very heart. We can treat sin lightly, as though it were no great matter, or think God indifferent to it; but the account shows God grieved in his heart by human wickedness, pained by the sin of the world he had made. Sin grieves God; it wounds the heart of the one who made us and loves us. This is a reason to take sin seriously, not because God is coldly angry, but because our sin grieves the heart of God who cares. Do not treat your sin as a matter of indifference to God; it grieves his very heart, as the wickedness of the world grieved him before the flood. Take your sin seriously as something that grieves the very heart of God, who is not indifferent to it, as the wickedness of the world grieved the LORD and pained his heart before the flood; for sin is not a small or trivial thing to God, shrugged off or overlooked, but a grief to the heart of the Maker who made us for better and loves us, so that to sin is to wound the heart of God who cares, and this is a reason to take our sin seriously rather than lightly.

Lord, as human wickedness spread across the earth before the flood, Scripture tells us something striking about how you regarded it: it did not leave you unmoved. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, the account says; and the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. You were not indifferent to human sin, not detached or unconcerned; the wickedness of the world grieved you, wounded your heart. Sin is not a small thing to you, shrugged off or overlooked; it grieves the very heart of the God who made us. Show me how you regarded human wickedness: it grieved you in your heart. You were not a distant, unmoved observer of the world's sin; you saw it, and it grieved you, pained your heart. This tells me that sin is not a trivial thing to you, not something you overlook; it wounds you, grieves the heart of the God who made us for better. I can think of you as either indifferent to sin or merely angry at it; but here I see you grieved by it, sorrowing over the wickedness of the world you had made. Our sin is not lost on you; it grieves you, the grief of a Maker over the corruption of what he made good. Take that to my heart, for my sin is not a matter of indifference to you but grieves your very heart. I can treat sin lightly, as though it were no great matter, or think you indifferent to it; but the account shows you grieved in your heart by human wickedness. This is a reason to take sin seriously, not because you are coldly angry, but because my sin grieves your heart, Lord, who care. Keep me from treating my sin as a matter of indifference to you; help me take it seriously as something that grieves your very heart, as the wickedness of the world grieved you before the flood.