The murder and the lies within man signify that the Devil, the source of murder and the father of lies, is working in fallen man (21:14; 23:1-2; John 8:44; 1 John 3:12). We know from John 8:44 that the Devil is the source of murder and the father of lies. This indicates that if we have murdering and lying within us, the Devil is working within us. Because the Devil works in fallen man, it is very easy for people to lie. Children lie automatically, without being taught to lie. We may lie not only in words, but also by gestures and facial expressions. Lying is a sign of the Devil living and working in us. Fallen men are liars because, according to the natural life, we are all children of the Devil.
Actually Exodus 23:1 does not use the word lie. Instead, this verse speaks of raising a false report. Spreading rumors and raising false reports may be even worse than lying.
As long as a person has murdering and lying within him, the Devil, the source of murder and the father of lies, is working in him. If we trace murder and lies to their source, we shall find the Devil.
Exodus 21:13 says, “And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.” This indicates that one who kills another by mistake has the right to flee for refuge into a place appointed by God. This means that, in the eyes of God, fallen man is a sinner by mistake and may flee into Christ. When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). This prayer opened the way for God the Father to come in and forgive mistaken sinners. All those who are sinners by mistake are qualified to flee into Christ as the city of refuge. How wonderful that God may look upon us as mistaken sinners and provide us with Christ as our city of refuge!
Are you a sinner by mistake, or are you a willful sinner? Your repentance toward God indicates that you are a sinner by mistake. If you are a willful sinner, why did you repent? To repent means that you confess you are wrong and are sorry for it. Any sinner who repents is a mistaken sinner, one who can be graciously forgiven by God.
According to 21:14, a person who killed another willfully had to perish. This verse says, “But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.” This indicates that willful sinners must perish. Those who perish do so because they refuse to repent. The fact that a certain person does not repent indicates that he is not a mistaken sinner, but is a willful sinner. If a person repents, God will regard him as a sinner by mistake and will forgive him. Such a one may flee into Christ. But if anyone refuses the gospel and does not repent, God will regard him as a willful sinner, one destined to perish. Whether you are a mistaken sinner or a willful sinner is determined by whether or not you repent.
In 21:13 and 14 we see a precious matter related to Christ. Christ is implied in 21:13. He was the One delivered into the hands of mistaken sinners. If God had not delivered the Lord Jesus into the hands of the Jews and Romans, the Lord would not have been crucified. After God delivered Him into the hands of those who crucified Him, the Lord Jesus prayed for the ones to whom He had been delivered. He asked the Father to forgive them, because they did not know what they were doing. It seemed that God the Father said in reply, “Yes, it was I who delivered You into their hands. Now I am ready to answer Your prayer by forgiving them.” Therefore, according to what is indicated by 21:13, Christ is the One delivered into the hands of mistaken sinners and killed by them. We killed Christ, but we killed Him by mistake. God delivered Christ to us sovereignly, and we mistakenly put Him to death. Therefore, 21:13 not only indicates Christ; it also indicates you and me. According to this verse, we who killed Christ by mistake may now flee into Him as our city of refuge.
Saul of Tarsus was one who killed Christ by mistake. When he was persecuting the believers, the Lord Jesus appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). To Saul’s understanding, he was persecuting Stephen and other believers, not the Lord Jesus. The very fact that Saul asked the Lord who He was implies that he was persecuting Him by mistake. He did not realize what he was doing. For this reason, he could say of himself in 1 Timothy 1:13, “Who formerly was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insulting destructive person; but I obtained mercy because being ignorant I acted in unbelief.” In ignorance and by mistake, Saul persecuted the believers and blasphemed God. But God forgave him and opened the gate into Christ as the city of refuge. This is the gospel. What good news that mistaken sinners can flee into Christ!
Exodus 21:13 is the unique verse in the Bible indicating that God delivered the Lord Jesus into the hands of mistaken sinners. In Acts 2:23 we are told that Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and Romans 4:25 says that He was delivered for our offenses. But these verses do not say to whom He was delivered. Only in 21:13 do we see that God delivered the Lord Jesus into our hands to be killed by our mistake.