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Genesis 6 · a question people ask

"The LORD was sorry that he had made man." Does God change his mind?

Interpretation

The Bible holds two things together. 1 Samuel 15 uses the same Hebrew verb, nacham, for God grieving that he made Saul king (15:11, 35) and for God who "will not lie nor repent" (15:29). Protestants agree God doesn't make mistakes; they explain these verses in two main ways.

How Christians read it

Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.

Real grief, unchanging purpose

God's plan and character never change (Numbers 23:19), and the Bible describes his real response to sin in human words so we can understand it. The grief is real; the plan was never surprised.

Numbers 23:19 · Genesis 6:6

God responds in real time

God truly responds to what people do. When Nineveh turned from evil, "God relented of the disaster" (Jonah 3:10). His character never changes, but he really engages with his creatures as things happen.

Jonah 3:10 · Jeremiah 18:8

The verses

“The LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.”
Genesis 6:6 · World English Bible
““It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he cried to the LORD all night.”
1 Samuel 15:11 · World English Bible
“Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.””
1 Samuel 15:29 · World English Bible
“Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned for Saul. The LORD grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:35 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Genesis 6

Genesis 6: Noah found favor

The first heart the Bible mentions is full of evil, and the second is God's, grieving. God will end a world people had already ruined, but first he promises his covenant, the Bible's first use of the word, to Noah, who found favor in his eyes.

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions