The word translated ‘destroy’, literally is wipe clean. I will wipe clean man, and the world, he goes on to say.
Does the sending of the flood cast doubt on God’s wisdom in creating mankind and the world in the first place? No, God was not taken by surprise at the way human sin developed. Adam was warned in advance of what would be the consequence of disobedience. But if he knew from the beginning that he would destroy the world with a flood, why did he ever create the world? God’s purpose in creating the world remained intact in spite of this judgment. It demonstrated his hatred of sin and his willingness to punish it even to the extent of destroying what he had made, but at the same time it showed God’s ability to deliver his elect out of judgment. Although only Noah and his family were saved in the ark, this was enough to prevent the creation of man being futile. As Peter says of Lot, ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished’ (2 Peter 2:9). This is a pattern of what will take place at the final judgment. The flood acts as a warning to all subsequent generations.