Genesis 6:5-7

God Resolves to Destroy Man

v. 5. 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. Noah's preaching had little or no effect. Jehovah saw that in spite of all His efforts to win the hearts of men the wickedness of man in general was increasing. No dam was able to hold back the flood of evil: the entire human race persisted in its mad course toward destruction. Every thought that took form in the heart of every man was wicked all the day long; every one of them was an adept in every form of vice, and all the planning of their hearts was ever directed to that which challenged the righteousness of God.

v. 6. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. The utter disgust of Jehovah over the conditions on earth is here expressed in the terms in use among men. So great was the universal wickedness that Jehovah repented of His having made man, who, by the impenitence and the hardness of his heart, was challenging Him to wreak His wrath upon the offenders. But, on the other hand, so great is the mercy of the Lord that the situation caused Him to feel deep grief and concern in His heart; He felt the pain of divine love because of the sin of men. But justice must reign and be carried out.

v. 7. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. The sentence of the Lord is comprehensive, referring to the entire sphere in which man is the head and chief. Man, whom He had created, He wanted to destroy utterly from the face of the earth. And the irrational beast that was created for man's service is also included in his destruction: mammals and reptiles and birds together. Thus the immutable God did not change, neither in His essence nor in His counsels; but He was obliged to apply His punitive justice on account of the change in man which challenged His wisdom, holiness, and righteousness.