For our scripture reading, turn with me to Exodus 11. Exodus 11. Last Sunday night, we considered together verses 4 and 5 as we considered the last merciful warning of final judgment. This is in the context of the ten plagues and this is the announcement of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn upon the Egyptians. And this morning we want to consider verses 6-8 of chapter 11 as we give our attention to the Word of God. Now the Lord had said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, He will let you go from here, and when He does, He will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people. So Moses said, this is what the Lord says. About midnight, I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne to the firstborn son of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. The next three verses being our text. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt, worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any man or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, Go, you and all the people who follow you, after that I will leave. Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. The Lord had said to Moses, Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt. Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and He would not let the Israelites go out of his country. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in connection with not only this particular chapter of Holy Scripture, but also this chapter in the life of God's chosen nation of Israel, We said last week that the announcement of the tenth plague, as I mentioned a moment ago, was the last merciful warning of final judgment. And the final judgment of the tenth plague upon the Egyptians, the death of the firstborn, was also a sign pointing to that final judgment when Jesus Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead. At that time, we considered the particular time of final judgment. In the midnight hour, the angel of death would go forth. In the midnight of life, when the world is sleeping in their sin and misery, Jesus Christ will come again, totally unaware to them that He is going to be coming. We also notice the peculiar subjects of that final judgment. From the firstborn of Pharaoh, the son of Pharaoh, way at the top, way on down to the son of the handmaid at the mill. God is not partial. He does not show favoritism. And we also notice the powerful means the very hand of God would inflict this final judgment. Beloved, the Bible is clear that Jesus Christ is coming again. And when He comes again, He will judge the living and the dead, taking those who believe on Him by grace through faith to their eternal home, but condemning to eternal damnation those who of their own wickedness reject Him. There will be a final judgment. There will be a final separation. Again, one that is signified and pointed to by the final separation that was to take place and indeed did take place at the point in Israel's history that Exodus 11 is dealing with. And as we look forward, congregation, to being nourished at the Lord's table, that table itself which points to that final judgment, That final separation. It's fitting this morning that we consider the final separation. Noticing, first of all, the audible distinction. Secondly, the fearful response. And then in third place, the gracious reason. Verses 6 and 7 of the text say once again, There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt, worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any man or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Moses makes it clear that the difference, the distinction between God's enemies and God's people would be highlighted. And that distinction would be highlighted by something that is audible. Boys and girls, what I mean is something that could be heard. Something that is audible. We know that you can tell a lot about a gathering by the noise that that gathering is making. I noticed that with the graduations both from 8th grade and from high school this past week, that there was a lot of whooping and whistling and cheering of excitement. It's an exciting time of accomplishment. And I trust that if I had a tape recorder up here this morning and we listened to a tape of a child's birthday party, we could tell by the excitement and the joy of the noise being made that something wonderful was taking place. But at the same time, if we were to listen to a mob riot, we could tell by the anger and the shouts and the sounds there that something unpleasant was taking place. That's what would be found so many years ago when the angel of death went through Egypt. On one side, there would be the sound of punishment. On the other side, the sound of peace. Among the Egyptians would be heard a cry of death a cry of torment and terror. The cry of blood. It would be a cry of fear in the sense that all hope is gone just as those who die apart from Jesus Christ have no hope. And for them, death is something unknown. It's scary. It's even terrifying. In Exodus 3, verse 9, the Lord says to Moses, And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me. Furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Just as the captives of Egypt cried out in bondage, now the Egyptians themselves would cry out as captives in bondage to death. The sound of punishment at the hand of the living God would echo at that midnight hour from the Egyptian homes, but the sound of peace would be heard among the sons of Israel. there would be silence. In fact, we could describe it as the silence would be deafening. We say, how can that be? Boys and girls, you say, that doesn't make sense. How can the silence be deafening when we turn our stereo on full blast? That's deafening because we can't hear anything else. But how can the silence be deafening? Sometimes we use that phrase when all of a sudden it's so quiet that the quiet grabs your attention and you notice nothing but the quiet. If you've ever lived, or maybe you do live, next to a busy freeway, there's always some amount of traffic going back and forth on that freeway all throughout the night, 24 hours a day. And you become accustomed to the hum of whatever activity there is on the freeway. Then all of a sudden, you move to a remote area, away from the city maybe, and it doesn't take long until the quiet grabs your attention and you can hear the quiet. As Egypt was screaming, the scream of death, against Israel not even a dog would bark, the text says. And we say, so what? What's the big deal about that? Why does God have that in His Word? Well, practically speaking, we know that dogs bark at almost anything that moves, especially in the middle of the night, the smallest, the tiniest of movements can trigger a dog's barking. as the Egyptians cry out at finding their firstborn dead, and as the Israelites prepare by the hundreds and thousands to leave, there was every reason for the dogs to growl and to bark. But on this particular night, against the natural tendencies of the dog, there would be peace and tranquility. In a sense, an outward peace that passes understanding. On this night, the dogs would be under the direct control of the great Creator, And when they would normally, naturally, as they had been made, to growl and bite, the dogs would not so much as nibble at the heels of the sheep. Just as the invisible hand of God shut the mouths of the lions through His angels, His angel as Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, on this night He shut the mouths of the dogs. People of God, on this particular night, the audible distinction would be evidence of the final separation. As Egypt suffered the torment of the darkest death, Israel would not suffer even the slightest injury. God's separation would be wide and it would be noticeable. And I trust you understand that this final separation between Israel and Egypt pointed forward to the great and final separation when Jesus Christ comes again. The Bible is clear that when judgment takes place, those who are cast away by the judge will be characterized by what? By weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hell is that place of never-ending torment where the fire is never quenched. Matthew says in a number of chapters, chapter 8, 22, 24, and 25, that the wicked will be cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But for those on the other side of that final separation, there will be peace. Revelation 7 and 21 tell us that for God's people, there will be the exact opposite of crying. Revelation 21 verse 4 says, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. congregation. That's what we as believers have to look forward to. God indeed makes a difference between His people, those who serve Him, and those who don't. And beloved, if the world understood that difference, then religion would not be indifferent to them. But today, unfortunately, so many make religion indifferent. It doesn't really matter. I have to tell you about a conversation that I was a part of recently between myself and two other parents who represented two other families who send their kids to Kelvin Christian School. And I can tell you that these families do not attend here, they do not attend at Crossroads, and I'm pretty confident they do not attend at New Life. But they were talking about whether or not, what would be the criteria for their children remaining in Kelvin Christian School. and it became very clear to me it was not because it's a Christ-centered school, but it all centered around where their children could have the greatest opportunity for athletic achievement. I want to make it clear to you that I'm not against athletics. I love athletics and sports. But the reason it became clear that their children were in this school to begin with was not, first of all, because it's a Christian school. They talked about the friends their children have, friends of good character, and that says a lot for our children in the school. They talked about the wonderful atmosphere there, and that too says a lot for the school. But religion, true religion, was indifferent. That was not the reason. It doesn't really matter. Because to so many, the truth is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, if you want to believe something, that's up to you. And what you believe is also up to you. You can believe whatever you want because in the end, it doesn't matter, beloved, if they only knew the truth. Do you? Young people, and especially our children home from college for the summer, I must press this point home. Do you know the truth? Not just up here. I have no doubt about that. But do you know it in here? Because in the end, it does matter what you do or don't believe. It does matter what your focus for life is. What you believe in whom your faith and trust is placed has eternal consequences. Now, I know that because we're finite, We cannot fully comprehend eternal, but try. Try to understand eternal consequences, never-ending consequences. And God's Word is plain, isn't it? That there are only two ways, the way of punishment and the way of peace. And only those who serve the one true God, the God who has revealed Himself in Scriptures, will find eternal life. All the rest will suffer, not just for a moment, but for eternity. God's Word makes the fact of final separation clear. In Psalm 1 we read, The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. In Matthew 3, verse 49 we read, The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the just and cast them into the furnace of fire. In Luke 16 we find the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and we read there of the righteous and wicked and it says, Between us and you, Abraham says, there is a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. Beloved, the separation will be final. No passing back and forth. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the distinctive separation of the sheep and the goats. and one day, like the rich man in hell, all the wicked will cry out for just a drop of water to cool their tongue while the righteous in Christ will dine at His banquet table fully, eternally satisfied. On which side of the separation will you be found? In the second place, notice briefly the fearful response. Verse 8 says, All these officials of yours, of Pharaoh's, will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, Go, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave. Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. Notice, there would be no repentance. No repentance. Yet the servants of Pharaoh would come to realize that they were fighting a losing battle, which is the truth for anyone who fights against God. That's the truth for anyone who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ. They fight a losing battle. But Pharaoh's officials would come to their senses enough to know that if Israel stayed, then the Egyptians would be destroyed. And therefore, in their agony, they would beg Moses to leave with God's people. That's what happened. Notice verses 31 and 32 of chapter 12. During the night, Pharaoh himself summoned Moses and Aaron and said, Up, leave my people, you and the Israelites. Go worship. The Lord, as you have requested, take your flocks and herds as you have said, and go and also bless Me. It's interesting that they seek to be delivered from the presence of God, the congregation. That does not provide true peace. Because those who do not have the peace of God will experience the presence of God's wrath. To be delivered from that, one needs to be delivered into the presence of God to receive His peace. But we hear this same desire to be delivered from God's presence echoed throughout Scripture by the wicked. Hosea 10, verse 8 says, They shall say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us. Jesus quotes those words in Luke's Gospel account. Then the revelation of John drives this point home at the coming of Jesus Christ in the presence of God, Revelation 6, 15-17 says, and notice now again also, the impartiality of God. The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come and who is able to stand? And in Revelation 9, 6, it speaks of those who do not have the seal of God on them. And we read there, in those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die and death will flee from them. We know that death is considered some sort of a release, but those in hell will always be at the point of dying, but will never die. They will never be released. people of God, that same presence of God, which is a comfort for the believer in life and in death, will be torment and hell for unbelievers. Even as Paul says, what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? The answer being none. Only those who are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ will enjoy sweet communion with the Most High God. And beloved, what sweet communion that will be. This table before us this morning is a sign and symbol of that everlasting communion with Him. Because Jesus Christ is victorious. He has paid the penalty for our sin. His blood was shed unto a complete remission of all our sins. And although some who do not truly believe in this life they might be able to deceive men, they might be able to deceive the elders and come to this physical table on that day, they will wish that God had not allowed them to be born. You see, the elders have such an awesome responsibility. A responsibility that they're not always so ready to accept because it is a great responsibility and that is to guard the table of the Lord. Sometimes visitors take exception to that. How dare you ask me if I'm a believer? But they must. Because the table of the Lord is for believers and believers only. And therefore, they have a responsibility to guard the table. They have a responsibility to examine those who desire to make public profession of faith. That's one of the only things they can go by, is a credible profession of faith in order to do their job. And really, it's for the benefit, if I may say it that way, of the unbeliever. Because what does the communion form say? Those who eat and drink in an unworthy manner eat and drink judgment under themselves. Yet God's people will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever because of the gracious reason for this final separation. Now, we need to reflect for a moment on a very important question. A question to which I believe the true answer is not always completely considered. And the question is, why did the Lord spare Israel? Why did the Lord spare Israel, their firstborn? Now, I trust that any one of the boys and girls here this morning would readily and rightly say, well, because they had the Lamb's blood on the doorpost. And that's true. But why did they have it on the doorpost? Why did they put it on? Because the Lord told them to. But we need to understand that those instructions were instructions of grace. God's instructions to His people are instructions of grace. When He says those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, are His instructions of grace applied to the hearts and lives of His people by the Holy Spirit. But think about Israel. As far as the religious state of Israel was concerned, they were no better than the Egyptians. They had forsaken their covenant God. They were idol worshipers. And if you say, how can you say that? Listen to Scripture. The Lord says in Leviticus 17.7, They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons after whom they have played the harlot. Joshua 24.14 says, Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. And recounting all of this in Exodus 20, the Lord says, On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands. Then I said to them, Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before His eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And then that quote finishes, but they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. Beloved, we know from Holy Scripture and we know from the history of Revelation that Israel never really repented. They never listened to God. They continued to follow the ways of the world and eventually God's people were exiled into captivity again. Even if we took the time to analyze the dialogue between Moses and the Israelites from the time that Moses came back by the call of God to Egypt to lead the people out. And during the increased persecution by the Egyptians, remember, they were given no more straw for their bricks. It's clear that they did not recognize nor did they appreciate the Word of God. The Israelites were idolatrous, rebellious, and unbelieving. So why did God save them? Because He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because of His sovereign electing grace and not because of any merit of theirs. And congregation, as we look into the mirror of the Israelites, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we see ourselves idolatrous, rebellious, and unbelieving with no merit to come on our own. Only of God's sovereign electing grace do we come to Him. In this final separation, beloved, The Lord made a distinction with the blood of the Lamb that was slain. The blood of the Passover Lamb symbolized for the children of Israel and for us that the only way of escape from the wrath of God against sin is by another bearing, the judgment. The blood of the Lamb is a display of God's mercy. Even as Paul says in Romans 9.15, the Word of the Lord says, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. As we consider together the final judgment and the final separation, it's clear that those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and as the Lord of their life will be condemned for all eternity. Good intentions won't save them. Good works won't save them. Some undefined spirituality won't do it. Riches and worldly accomplishments won't save them. Nothing but the blood of Jesus will do. Beloved, the blood of that first Passover lamb was the blood of God's visible electing grace and made the Israelites untouchable by death. And the blood of grace that flowed from our Savior on Calvary's tree covers the sins of His people and washes and cleanses the sinner and clothes Him by the electing grace of God in white robes for the eternal wedding feast. That blood has been shed once for all who believe. For them, eternal death has lost its sting. And for them, eternal death will not touch them. That's our confidence. Eternal death will not touch the child of God. In the first service I mentioned that in my previous congregation we had a number of members who were born and raised in a Reformed tradition in which they are discouraged from coming to the Lord's Table. In fact, if it has been done that in the service when they would come forward to the Lord's Table the elders audibly, verbally, out loud would ask them in front of the rest of the congregation what makes you think you're worthy to come to the Lord's table. But Jesus Christ says, do this in remembrance of me. I do not come to this table because I am worthy in myself that I have anything to bring. But I come in confidence because Jesus Christ has made me worthy. Jesus Christ has set a place for me at His table. Is that your confidence? Do you believe? Jesus says, come, for my table of grace awaits you.