Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, “Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.” But my hand shall not be against you. (1 Samuel 24:12-13)

What The Ancients Understood

The fundamental truth of man’s relationship with God is that all men have no excuse to accuse God of not telling them what He expected of them. In other words, there has never been a time in human history when God has not revealed Himself. The manner of revelation changed over time. He spoke to Adam and Eve and told Noah to build an ark. Through the writing of the Law of Moses, God revealed Himself to the nation of Israel. The Gentiles were a law to themselves, understanding accountability before God. Jesus Christ came to reveal the final testimony of God’s redemptive plan for the world through the blood-bought gospel of the resurrected Savior. No man will stand before the Father who can claim ignorance.

When Saul was chasing David, seeking to kill him, the young shepherd had two opportunities to kill Saul. David would not harm the Anointed of the Lord, even though his men urged him to strike the king dead. After David cut a piece of the robe from Saul’s garment, he told the king how close he had come to death. In his reply and plea to King Saul, David assured him that he meant him no harm, quoting an ancient proverb not found in scripture but declared throughout the word of God. David reminded Saul that wickedness proceeds from the wicked. This is a moral statement that could only come from God. The world does not recognize evil. They call evil good and good evil. The morality of the human mind is immorality. To suggest that wickedness proceeds from the wicked declares the law of God in the hearts of men.

David could have quoted from the Law of Moses, but he chose to quote an obscure proverb from the ancients. The declaration of the young shepherd defines his knowledge that God has revealed Himself to all men. Even the moral nature of the human heart understands that there is something right and wrong. Morality is not just an environmental agenda but is born in the soul of every human being. What a man does with that moral nature is what defines him. A child is born with a pure heart. The heart of a child can be molded to follow after righteousness or unrighteousness. Embedded deep in the spirit of every person is the knowledge that there is a moral code.

Ancient civilizations show that even in the darkest places of the world’s cultures, there is a knowledge of right and wrong. What the moral code is may not be in keeping with the law of God, but the knowledge of such still exists. It is from the consciousness of morality that the heart can be formed to follow the moral code of the Divine. David recognized the value of the ancients, and, as John would later write, that all those who practice righteousness are righteous, and those who sin commit lawlessness. The ancients were right: wickedness proceeds from the wicked.

Jesus taught in His ministry that evil comes from an evil heart. An apple comes from an apple tree because it is born of the seed of an apple. Whatever is in the heart of man will determine the kind of person he is going to be. The saying is repeated when something unfortunate is said that the person did not intend to say; the fact remains that what was said came from the heart. Anger can swell up in a heart, and with the mouth sin spews forth. The tongue is unruly, but it can be tamed. Wickedness comes from a wicked heart. There is no denying that. Through the power of the gospel and the grace of a forgiving Father, wickedness can be controlled so that righteousness comes from a righteous heart, revealing the true character of God. Be warned and beware of an evil heart because wickedness will be the result. The good news is that molding the heart after Jesus Christ will renew the spirit into a new creation filled with grace, love, forgiveness, and righteousness.