Question: Why was God sorry for creating man in genesis 6:6. It stated that it repented God that He had created man. It makes it seem like God changed His mind but God doesn’t change and He doesn’t make mistakes.

Answered by: Heath Tibbetts, who has been a volunteer with us since August, 2007.

Answer:This is a great question, and one that I wrestled with as I began reading the Bible more regularly. We see this stated both here in Genesis 6 and also after the failure of King Saul to Israel. In both situations, God knew what the outcome would be. And in both situations, there was a purpose to the outcome that was occurring. But, it made God no less heartbroken for His creation and for the people involved.

God is a loving and personal Creator and Father. And as a father myself, I see how raising children teaches me more about my relationship to God. There are times that I warn my children against a particular action and make them aware of potential consequences. However, after many warnings, there comes a point I have to allow them to make the mistake in order to learn. I receive no joy in it. I want to stop them. But I know that the consequence is going to be the only way they can truly learn. And the Bible is clear that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). That doesn’t make it any less painful and reveals a truly loving God.

So the word repented is sometimes rendered as “regret” or “sorry.” It’s not about the imperfection of His plans, or unrighteousness in His judgement. It expresses His heartache when His creation chooses their own way and suffers the consequences. How incredible that we serve a God who is joyful in our victories and saddened in our defeats.