Does being special appeal to you? Does being distinctive in the eyes of God interest you?
The Hebrew word used in our text as ‘set apart’ is used several times in Exodus of God ‘setting apart’ the Israelites from the Egyptians. The first use is in Exodus 8:22 when the plague of flies is announced and God declares that “I will set apart the land of Goshen where my people dwell that there will be no swarms of flies there.” This distinctiveness is repeated during two more plagues that will not touch the Israelites, demonstrating their distinctiveness as God’s. Then, during the Exodus journey, Moses asks God the sign of God’s favor upon Israel,
‘Distinct’ from all other people because God has chosen them for relationship with Himself. God is the One who gives them distinctiveness, identifies them as ‘godly’ not because they have some special genetics but because they desire relationship with Him, are wholly willing to identify through their lives in God.
King David is acknowledging this work of God whereby God ‘sets apart’ for Himself and enters into relationship with those who accept His ways as their own. David acknowledges that in the relationship—distinctively God’s—the ‘Lᴏʀᴅ hears when I call to Him’ and in this relationship, David finds peace. And you have the same access if you accept God’s distinctiveness for your life. Amen.