Before we get to Noah and the flood, notice there is a lot of repetition in verses 5 through 13. In verse 5, humans are evil, and in verse 12 they are corrupt and they have corrupted the earth. In verses 6 and 7 God's heart is "deeply troubled" by the situation and he plans to solve it by wiping the earth clean. In verse 13 God declares he will "put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them." The end of verse 13 repeats and summarizes, "I [will] destroy both them and the earth." Verses 8 through 10 talk about Noah. He "found favor in the eyes of the Lord" in verse 8. In verse 9 he is described as righteous, blameless, and faithful. Noah is a sharp contrast to the violent corruption of the people around him. The scene is set (multiple times for emphasis) with the earth in a state of utter depravity, only a single family still faithful to God, and God ready to act.
We might wonder, why would God let this happen to his creation? Why choose this moment to act? Why not sooner? (and we may well ask, why not later?).
Let's consider how we've seen God deal with evil so far. In the garden he punished Adam and eve for disobeying. With Cain God pursued him despite his rebellious heart and told him he could still be accepted if he did what was right. When Cain murders his brother, God punishes him by taking away his livelihood (the ground would no longer produce food at ALL for him) but also protected him to prevent others from killing him. In Chapter 6, God sets a time limit for his corrupted creation. So, what does all this suggest? From my perspective, God's prevailing characteristic when dealing with evil is patience. He does not act impulsively (like I would) and he does not act harshly (yep, me again - I'm pretty sure I'd be harsh if I were in his position). But he does act!
So far, we have only seen God act in a measured and precise way. He responds to Cain's bitterness by not looking on his offering with favor in 4:5. Then God escalates his response to Cain by calling him to repent in verse 4:7. And he further escalates his response after Cain murders his brother. At each point, Cain rejects God instead of repenting.
Now, many generations later, mankind has overwhelmingly responded to God's patience with more and more corruption. Perhaps we should not ask, "how could God let this happen," instead we should ask, "why did mankind repay God's patience and kindness with evil and corruption?" While we might like to blame God for the problems on the earth, we are not given that option in the story. We must either realize that mankind is responsible for the corruption on the earth or look like fools when we attempt to pass the blame: "I responded to your patience, kindness, and redemptive pursuits with rejection, corruption, and evil, so it's your fault God!"
Now that mankind has fully revealed his wicked nature and utter refusal to repent, God acts. His plan to wipe the slate clean also includes a plan to preserve mankind through Noah and his family (as outlined in verses 6:14 through 6:21). As we have seen before, God provides a path for redemption when he deals with evil.
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