Grievous refers to something bad, very severe or serious. Whenever you add exceedingly in front of grievous, God is magnifying the great extent of a specific addiction, bad habit or unwholesome cravings. King Solomon devotes a portion of his teaching to what God detests, Proverbs 6:16-19. This clarifies what breaks God’s heart like the words of Moses in Genesis 6:5.
And the Lord said, Because the shriek [of the sins] of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is exceedingly grievous, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether [as vilely and wickedly] as is the cry of it which has come to Me; and if not, I will know, Genesis 18:20-21.
Today, cable channels design entire shows on evil with episodes that follow real life cold case murders. If history often repeats itself with a series of cycles. The end of the earth’s first cycle was highlighted by every imagination and intention of all human thinking was set on evil continually. Rather than wait on the first Great Awakening to occur, God chose to send a worldwide flood to start over with Noah and his family.
Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. 17 And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever, 1 John 2:15-17.
If parents checked out the content of mature video games before purchasing them for birthdays and Christmas, some adults would feel the same way God felt in Genesis 18, exceedingly grievous. Since God promised to never send another global flood to destroy the earth, what should Christian’s do next? What’s our next move? Pointing the finger to blame others will only elevate hostility. Beside emulating Jesus, Matthew 5:13-16, fast and pray for another Great Awakening to reverse this trend of exceedingly grievous public acts.
by Jay Mankus