Sin & Regret

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to Genesis 6. If you are able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word. Genesis 6, verses 1-8:

Genesis 6:1–8 NIV

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 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. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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As we saw in Genesis 5, human beings were beginning to increase on the earth. People are getting married, having babies; those babies are growing up, getting married, having babies. Those babies are growing up, getting married, having babies.

Genesis 5 concerns the sons of Seth.

Genesis 6 speaks of daughters.

Genesis 6:1–2 NIV

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

You might not immediately see the problem, though you probably have some questions. What you likely know is the approaching crisis. Genesis 6-9 cover the incredibly well-known story of Noah and the ark.

The questions we probably have are: “Who are the ‘sons of God’?” and “Who are the ‘daughters of humans’?”

Here’s a really good, deeply theological answer: *shrug*

The identity of both groups is uncertain, though there are a few possible options.

Some believe the sons of God to be angels; that there’s some blurring of the line between earthly beings and heavenly beings. These “fallen angels” find some textual support in 2 Peter and in the book of Jude. But this explanation is not universally compelling.

Some believe the sons of God to be human rulers, tyrannical human judges or kings (in the line of Lamech, ungodly, possibly demon-possessed).

Others believe that these sons of God are followers of God among the male descendants of Seth (the godly line of Seth) who married the ungodly daughters of Cain.

Those are the three main views. But identifying for certain who they are, determining which of the three views might be correct is tough, I’d argue impossible.

There is something that’s absolutely clear: the relationship described here (the sons of God and the daughters of humans) involves some form of grievous sexual perversion.

The relationship between these two unidentified groups is wrong in the sight of God. Clearly wrong. Whoever the sons of God are, acted with impure motive and engaged in an impure relationship.

The sons of God saw something attractive and took.

Genesis 6:2 ESV

2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.

Just like the first sin in the garden, the sons of men see that those women are good, pleasing to the eye/desirable/attractive, and so they took what they wanted and indulged themselves.

It’s the same action, generations later. It’s the same:

Genesis 3:6 NIV

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Saw…good…took...

Mankind takes what’s good in God’s creation and uses it in sinful disobedience and rebellion. Again.

How many good things can we think of that people use, not for good, but for evil purposes, either by us or by others?

The union between the sons of God and the daughters of humans is offensive to the Lord Yahweh. Not that sex or procreation are bad things; the opposite is true. Sex and procreation are created by God for our enjoyment and our blessing.

But people take those good gifts of God and pervert them, moving beyond the bounds of God’s good intention.

The Creator’s intent was for sex to be enjoyed by a man and a woman in the context of marriage. Not two men or two women, not boyfriend and girlfriend, not casual hook-ups or one-night stands, not cohabitation.

And yet, since the time of Lamech in the line of Cain (the fella who decided it was right for him to have two wives), that good gift from God has been twisted and perverted in myriad ways.

Sin is pervasive

These opening verses of Genesis 6 show us that nothing has improved since Adam and Eve left the garden. In what is certainly an abridged history of mankind (we aren’t told what any of the successive generations from Adam to Noah do), we have murder, polygamy, violence.

Genesis 6:5 NIV

5 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.

How great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth...

Throughout Genesis 6 (and onward through the flood account) we’ll read of the pervasiveness of sin. It’s everywhere.

The Lord uses the phrase “the earth” to denote the spread of sin. Verse 5, verse 6, verse 7, verse 11, verse 12, verse 13, and on and on.

The description has all the appearances of a universal condition rather than a local one.

Sin is everywhere. Throughout the earth. Not just California, but right here. In this room.

The sons of God, the daughters of men, the Nephilim of verse 4 (giants, men of renown, mighty men and warriors, whoever they are have apparently contributed to the violence that filled the earth):

Genesis 6:13 NIV

13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

Sin infects all of us, and has since the Garden. And it’s not just that depravity controls the actions of mankind, but also the thoughts of mankind.

The mind has been perverted. Mankind in totality, and the total man = ruled by sin. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Sin is pervasive. It’s everywhere. It is a chronic condition, and it is, at the same time, acute. Mankind lives with sin and sin will kill mankind.

We’re all of us sin-sick; this illness is chronic and terminal.

Genesis 6:6–7 NIV

6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 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.”

Up until now, Genesis has dealt with the sins of individuals—Adam and Eve, Cain, Lamech—and the judgment thereof.

NOW, it’s the sins of a group—human beings, the human race.

The result: God’s punishment is not directed against a man, but against mankind.

God never acts arbitrarily; He never has a bad day at work and then comes home to kick the dog and yell at the kids.

Nobody is judged simply because they are human, but that “every inclination of the human heart is only evil all the time.”

Mankind is beyond self-help.

Sin is intense

I don’t think anybody can look around the world without realizing this; that is, if you have a moral compass and have your eyes opened.

Things are not as they should be: poverty, oppression, pride, lust for power, slavery, sex trafficking, wars, abuse, drug use, the Boston Red Sox (the very existence of the Red Sox is as clear an evidence of the Fall as you’ll ever find).

Now, just think what we’d find if we examined our own hearts. No one wants the thoughts or desires of their heart broadcast for all to see. That’d be a nightmare for all of us.

What was true in Genesis 6 is true today: every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart [is] only evil all the time.

Only evil all the time.

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Let us realize that wickedness and evil are not just out there, around us, on the news, in the house next door, down the street, on the other side of the country. No. No. Wickedness and evil are inside of me; there are wicked and evil intentions in my heart (and yours).

I am prone to prioritize myself over everyone else. I’m prone to want what I want. I am prone to sin and depravity. My heart (and yours) is deceitful and desperately wicked, only evil all the time.

Genesis 6:6–7 NIV

6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 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.”

Sin grieves God

The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled… “I regret that I have made them.”

Those are some strong ol’ words. And, possibly, probably a little off-putting or bothersome.

What do we do when we read that God has regrets? The Lord regretted His creation? The Lord just up and changed His mind? The Lord has something over which He must repent?

That doesn’t sound right, does it? God doesn’t change, nor does He change His mind; this we know. The changelessness of God is a major Biblical doctrine—Thou changest not... God is not wishy-washy. He doesn’t respond, like us, to new information; He’s not surprised by this turn of events, nor is He caught off guard.

Here, what happens is that God sees His good creation, those He created in His image, is just chalk-full of sin. He’s grieved by fallen humanity and that He must judge them.

In this way, God regrets. He’s grieved, very sorry.

This—what God will do after a period of time (perhaps what 120 years refers to)—will be a reversal of God’s creative work. This is de-creation.

John Piper wrote this helpful explanation of how God is grieved and yet explains how He didn’t mess up. God is sorry, but He’s not mistaken:

“If I spank my son for blatant disobedience and he runs away from home because I spanked him, I may feel some remorse over the spanking — not in the sense that I disapprove of what I did, but in the sense that I feel some sorrow that the spanking was necessary and part of a wise way of dealing with my son in this situation, and great sorrow that he ran away.

If I had to do it over again, I would still spank him. It was the right thing to do, even knowing that one consequence would be alienation for a season.

I approve the spanking from one angle, and at the same time I regret the spanking from another angle.

If such a combination of emotions is possible for me in my finite decisions, it is not hard for me to imagine that God’s infinite mind — the infinite complexity of God’s emotional life — would be capable of something similar or even more complex.”

God grieves the sin of His creation; He loves His creations and yet is grieved by them, their behavior, their choices. Sin grieves God. Sin results in judgment.

Sin is judged by God

Genesis 6:7 serves as a prelude to the flood story. It’s the firm resolution of the Lord to wipe from the face of the earth the human race He created.

They will be blotted out, washed away, erased from the earth.

This same phrase is used in a positive sense of “washing away sins.”

God not only erases sin; He erases sinners—here He judges them by drowning them.

Because sin is pervasive, God’s judgment is extensive. Not only humans but animals as well are mentioned as objects of divine wrath. All living creatures, human as well as animal, will face the judgment of God for the sin that is on the earth.

All of this should fill us with dread of sin. Imagine how horrible it was when the punishment extends past those who are guilty to the rest of creation. All creation is affected by the pervasive, intense sin of man.

Sin is ugly and must be dealt with.

Genesis 6:7–8 NIV

7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Here together, verses 7-8 show God’s characteristic way with evil: to meet it, not with half-measures, but with the simultaneous extremes of judgment and salvation.

For God to look at sin and shrug His shoulders and then say, “Oh, well, you know…kids will be kids! What can you do! That’s just how it goes.”—well, that would be both unjust and unwise.

No parent or teacher or boss worth their salt puts up with blatant disobedience and rebellion. Much more so, God would cease to be true to Himself and His character if He let sin run unchecked.

God doesn’t deal half-way. He judges sin (here with a flood to destroy the whole earth) and also employs the other extreme: salvation.

Genesis 6:8 NIV

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. Or, to put it another way: Noah finds grace.

Noah is distinguished from the rest of humanity. Apart from Noah, the only other people in the OT who are described as finding favor in the eyes of the Lord is Moses (Exodus 33:17) and Abraham (Genesis 18:3).

But Noah found favor…Noah found grace.

There are two options: judgment and salvation.

All the people, all the animals on earth, will be judged for their grievous sin. They will face the wrath of God. They themselves will pay the price for their sin.

But Noah...

Noah finds favor. Noah receives grace from the Lord God. Noah and his family are spared the judgment their sin deserves. Why? Grace.

>The problem in Genesis 6 is sin. It’s rampant. It’s everywhere. God can’t abide sin. God must judge sin. He promises to do so, and He will. And then, there’s Noah. Saved by grace, purely due to God’s favor upon Him.

Not much has changed. Many, many, many years after the flood and sin is still running rampant. It’s everywhere. In every human heart. God still cannot abide sin. God, the Just, must and will judge sin. If we are found in our sin, we will pay the price. In our sin, we will die.

It’s either judgment or salvation. There’s no middle ground. There’s no place in between heaven and hell—good place, bad place, and medium place.

We either persist in our sin and face judgment, wrath, eternal torment and separation from God.

Or we run to Jesus and take shelter under His wings! How He longs to gather us as a hen gathers her chicks! How He loves us! He came to save us, we who were dead in our trespasses and sins—DEAD.

Jesus took the judgment our sins warranted. Because of [God’s] great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead—D-E-A-D—in our transgressions.

Sin results in judgment.

Faith in Jesus results in salvation—it is by grace you have been saved.

Friends, turn from your sin. Repent! Turn from the intense allure of sin, the sin that pervades our culture and our own hearts, turn from sin and run to Christ! Grieve Him no longer! Do not face His judgment. Accept Christ, believe in Jesus, give your life to Him and find grace and mercy and salvation.

Let’s pray:

Father, our hearts are prone to evil. We are sinners, all. We often turn from your ways and trust in our ways. We are desperately wicked, at a heart level.

We need new hearts. In Christ, you have made this possible. In Christ, you make all things new. Transform us, renew us, restore us. Help us to hate our sin like you hate our sin. Give us the power to daily turn from sin and turn to you.

We are totally dependent upon your grace, your mercy, your love for us. We praise you for Jesus—because of Him, though we are sinful, you love us.

All praise and glory and honor be yours forevermore. In Jesus’ name. Amen.