God's Pain.

Painting by Erik Hollander.

"The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." 

Think of the pain in a parent's heart when their children do wrong things. God is the same as parents. Think of the pain we feel as we watch the suffering and wars on TV. God feels that pain too.

Many ask, "Why doesn't God do something about it?" He does. Sometimes he topples governments and kingdoms when they are evil. Hitler's regime did not last long compared to other dictator's. God stepped in using the other nations to rid the world of him. The world rejoiced when Nazi Germany fell. I would guess the people at the time of the flood were like the Nazis. Evil to the core. There must have been wars and murder in abundance. God had to step in himself to end this.

Years later God spoke to Abraham about the nation of  the Amorites:

"After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction." Genesis 15:16

God does not destroy a nation until there is no hope for it, as in the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, a city with inhabitants who raped people who came to visit. The people of the flood had reached the end of their probationary time.

Some people say God was cruel in the Old Testament because of the flood and how he later sent Israel out to destroy nations. But I think he was protecting the world from a terrible evil that was rising. 

I'll be honest. I wish God would just put people or nations to sleep and let them die peacefully, but I guess there is a reason why he doesn't do that. It would have been cool to just wake up one morning and all the Nazis had died in bed. :) 

Nope, He doesn't do that. But I trust that He does the right thing at the right time.