Gen. 6:6 says, “And the Lord was sorry He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” I am so perplexed by this statement. God, being omniscient, had fore-knowledge of everything. So why was He sorry He had made man knowing what they would do? Being a parent, I can understand the grief in His heart.
The fact that God knows the end from the beginning doesn’t change the way He feels when His children cause bad things to happen. If He didn’t have those feelings He wouldn’t be a loving God. He knew if they had just followed His instructions all the consequences could have been avoided. But He had given them the right to make their own decisions and by Genesis 6 He knew he was going to have to punish them for their disobedience. His righteousness demanded it.
This was the second of seven chances He will have given mankind to live in a manner that pleases Him, and when all is said and done we will have failed all seven. That’s why in eternity He will remove man’s sin nature along with all desire to disobey Him (1 Cor. 15:24). At that point there will finally be peace in His creation.