Genesis 7:4 - When the Father Judges, Jesus Grieves
In Jesus, the Father’s Proxy on Earth and Jesus on Mount Sinai, I establish the idea of Christophanies in the Old Testament, essentially making the case that where we see God on earth, it is Jesus. In Genesis 6 - Who Regretted Creating Mankind?, I use the same principals to suggest there was interplay between Jesus and God the Father in the Flood narrative. It resolves a key problem skeptics point out, where God does not appear omniscient when He speaks (emphasis mine)…
 5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
This is a statement of regret. How can an omniscient God regret? Didn’t He know? Why didn’t He avoid this? The mere question shows a misunderstanding of God. First of all, He is a Trinity. God the Father clearly knows everything and could have avoided it, but Jesus (God the Son) knows only what His Father in Heaven tells Him. In other words, Jesus is not omniscient. Therefore, it was Jesus who made the statement, and Jesus who grieved. He even spoke about what He saw in Matthew 10…
 36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Now, does this mean that the Father was not in pain over this? Not at all. I am merely saying that the statements above were made by Jesus. Whatever the Father’s emotional state at this time (I doubt it was joyful), the statements in Genesis 6:7 do not tell us; the verse tells us about Jesus’ emotions. As for the judgement itself, that is from the Father. Look back a few verses in Genesis 6…
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
I believe this “contending” is between The Father and man. The Son has no contention with us; He grieves when we sin. The Father however judges. Consider Jesus’ Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35. After receiving mercy from his master, a servant withholds mercy from another. Word of this got back to his master…
 32“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
 35“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Now, one could ask the same question here that the Flood brings up: Didn’t the master know that his servant would not be merciful to the other servant? Well, if that master is God the Father, then yes, He knew. After all, Jesus was not only referring to the punishment in verse 35, but the initial mercy that was shown as well. For someone who does not forgive his brother their trespasses, God the Father will start out showing Him mercy; when the “servant” then shows himself evil and unmerciful, then God the Father will leave the servant to pay back his debt in full. The American justice system works similarly; break your parole, and you go back to prison for the rest of your sentence. In America, that is considered justice, and that is all we are talking about here. The difference here is that God puts you on parole (i.e., shows you mercy), even knowing whether you will break it. Jesus on the other hand, is not necessarily told by the Father who will break their parole and who will not. Here merely argues your case, trying to get parole for everyone He can. The Father listens to the argument, and acts on the argument alone, not on the ultimate outcome, which He knows. It is then up to each of us what we do.
Now, some Christians will read the above and object. “Once saved always saved, right?” Right. What that means is that God will not revoke our parole for slipping up and sinning. Look back at that parable again, and especially at Jesus’ summary in verse 35. The last three words are, “from your heart.” Mankind worries about their actions, but the Father looks at the heart. If, in your heart, you are willing to accept mercy, but not willing be merciful, then your parole will be revoked… not because of your actions, but because of the heart that your actions merely revealed. A merciful person who still treats people wrong to some degree, but makes amends when he realizes what he did will still be saved, because his heart is merciful.
Jesus is the advocate for all. Not all will accept it. For those who do not, the Father will judge… and Jesus will grieve.