SCRIPTURE: Genesis 6
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
(Read my reflection from 2008)
The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. [Genesis 6:6-8]
Conflicted, in this passage I sense the conflicted heart of God.
His beautiful creation, His much-loved children, they had all become corrupt.
Despite all His blessings and warnings, people became inflamed by lust and violence.
Even the sons of God (some say angels, but I think they were the one-time faithful followers of God) were drawn to the daughters of the faithless (those who rejected God), and fell away themselves.
And now God is filled with regret; He is deeply troubled, He is conflicted.
He loves the world, and it’s inhabitants, yet He hates what they have become.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]
For God so hated sin that He wiped out humanity through the flood – except Noah.
For God so loved sinners that He sent Jesus to rescue all who trusted in Him – like Noah.
God does not want anyone to perish, yet He cannot tolerate sin.
Punish sin, yet rescue sinners – how can He do both?

We need to remember that God never stops loving the world.
The OT God is not an angry God, while the NT God is a loving God; throughout the Bible God is always loving, and His loving heart is deeply troubled by what we have become.
Yes, He must punish sin (as is seen in the flood and the cross), and yet He must also rescue sinners (if they like Noah repent and trust in Him).
The only way I can imagine how this conflicted love/hate experience works is to imagine the parents of Clifford Olsen or Paul Bernardo – who love their sons yet must hate what they have become (hopefully).
Or the parents I read about who finally had to turn their drug-dealing son into the police because He was endangering himself, them and many others, and refused to stop.
How conflicted they must be to execute justice, and hopefully help their son.

The flood might seem extreme, killing every living person?????
It is possible that though everyone (except Noah and his family) died, that does not mean they all went to hell – though only God knows.
I see the flood as an attempt to start anew, to make a radical break from the corruption and violence that flooded the world (and make no doubt, it was REALLY bad).
And I see it as a constant reminder to all about the seriousness of sin, and what happens when people refuse to repent and give themselves over to lust and violence.
All I know, and hang on to, is that God was deeply troubled in His heart because He loves us, and He finds a way to punish sin and to rescue sinners.
For God so loved the world that He sent the flood, and that He sent His Son!

PRAYER:
Lord, I sense the conflict within Your heart, You love us yet You hate our sin. You cannot leave sin unpunished, yet You find a way to rescue us. Thank You for enduring the flood of judgment on our behalf, and making it possible for us to receive everlasting life!