And not only does he talk a lot He talks about bringing enormous destruction when he thinks it's warranted, which He talks about. Surely there is something in that? Other than saying I did it! And he continues to talk down through the ages, through all his prophets. Noah and the story of the ark and the flood is God talking and saying to mankind if you pay me no heed I'll punish you. If you pay me no heed you will suffer the consequences and that just may be a violent death and an eternity without me.
Yet that's not always how you see it, Noah and his story.What you usually see is a flood and the animals and the ark and oh, I everyone else wiped off the face of the earth because of sin. That's not what it was, it was a clear communication from God talking straight at them and us saying don't sin against me! Don't continue to push me.. don't pay me lip service..
Noah and the ark and the flood begins to show us just a little bit the extent of the pain that God has received / endured . In Zec 12: 10 when God is talking about his pain, He puts it this way “they look on me whom they have pierced” and the scriptures in this part of Gen show us the extent to which God is willing to go to deal with his pain.
But what is exciting here is that God talks not just in all the action, the flood, the wars the fire and brimstone that we see here on the page he also talks through the writer as well as talking almost like a narrator through all the action to tell us his innermost feelings. Its the Directors Cut, we see all the action and the consequences and everything God is saying as well as the narration at the same time from God! And this carries on through the ages and all the prophets right up until & including Christ who says I've come to preach the word and who then says to us
"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned"
Admittedly it's not the first thing that comes to mind in Gen but, here is a God who is extremely vocal. About his pain and regret and vengeance, punishment. Vocal about laws and covenants. God hasn't stopped talking since we opened the book! God who goes on right to the end of HIS book down the ages to those in the N/T who would shape his church, to the end of the book. And we close the book and it's strangely quite!
What is it he said to do? .. “go into all the world” Funny enough I see some parallels with Noah and the ark and us and the church or rather us the church. God hasn't stopped speaking God is still offering sinful wicked people like us a way out a way to be saved and the irony is it is by water.
Is he still grieved? I don't know, all I can really say is, all through the bible there has been times he has sent devastation of one kind or another on people of one kind or another. Has it ever stopped? We hear words like anger and jealousy, judgement from God but maybe not grieved so much. Unless being grieved is a thing that stays for a lifetime. But maybe it's a stretch too far to say he is grieved?
We certainly know that the wrath of God against mankind is coming and we like righteous preacher Noah spread the word and build the church, the people not the buildings, like we were told to. Wickedness still abounds in all it's new forms, still opposed to goodness and godliness. And lone voices call out. But In the end Only a few will be saved. Of all the possible numbers out their only a few will be saved! Because Only a few will come in. But God hasn't stopped talking yet has he? He has appoint us as his speakers with all our various talents, to do it, to tell the world, here is love here is a way back from the dead, and to do it before the rains comes.