Deuteronomy 14:2
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
God chose Israel to be a holy people belonging to Him, a special, peculiar and treasured people for Himself above all nations on the earth, set apart from other peoples. This choosing did not rest on their being numerous or greater than others, but on His own choice and grace, and His presence among them marked them as separate. They were peculiar because they alone preserved the true worship of God by keeping His commandments, called to serve and glorify Him by keeping His ways. That holy relationship requires keeping a clear distinction and not mingling, uniting, or compromising allegiance through alliances with the world in its loves, practices, and disobedience to God's law, a principle that belongs to God's people in the last days. This set-apart life is to be preserved even in outward signs such as dress in simplicity that rebukes pride and extravagance, so that by lives shaped by His keeping grace His people may properly represent Christ and honor Him before the world.
Chosen Holy People
Deuteronomy 14:2 means that God chose Israel to be a holy people belonging to Him, a special, peculiar and treasured people for Himself above all the nations upon the earth, set apart from other peoples. Their chosen standing did not rest on being numerous or greater than other peoples, but on God's own choice and grace. His presence among them is what marked them as a separate people.
They were called peculiar because they alone preserved the true worship of God by keeping His commandments. Their calling carried the purpose of serving and glorifying God by keeping His ways. While they remained faithful the temple was to stand forever as a continuing sign of His special favor to them. Had they always followed His ways Jerusalem would not have been destroyed.
Although Israel received God's law, they tended to forget God and His claims. Therefore ceremonies and ordinances were given to keep God in mind and to keep before them their duty to honor and obey their Creator. Holiness under this law included distinguishing clean food from unclean food. Swine's flesh is unclean and forbidden by God's law.
Living Distinct Today
God chose Israel to be a holy people belonging to Him, a special and distinct people set apart for Himself above all nations on earth, and that same calling rests on His people in the last days to remain distinct from the world rather than mingle with it. Their chosen standing did not rest on being numerous or greater than other peoples, but on God's choice and grace, and God's presence among them marked them as a separate people. That special relationship required keeping a clear distinction from surrounding peoples and not compromising allegiance through alliances with those who would not obey His law, not uniting with the world in its loves and practices or following its ways. Forbidden alliances with heathen neighbors caused Israel to lose that identity and adopt evil practices, showing that all who turn from God for strength to depend on worldly people lose love and zeal for His service and become morally weak, while the advantages they seek bring disappointment and loss of souls.
Distinctness is to be preserved in outward signs, including dress, as well as in articles of faith. Israel's distinctive clothing mark was to signify this treasured, set-apart relationship, and although no special mark is now required, dress should still distinguish God's people from the world, glorify God, and show simplicity that rebukes pride, vanity, and extravagance by avoiding fashions that mark them as following the surrounding world. For schools this calling means the college should not seek popularity by imitating worldly customs, but should give the Bible its proper place in educating the young.
Those entrusted with sacred work must honor this holy calling by carefully following all God's directions from the greatest to what may seem least, and by living with purity and consecration, a charge laid especially on those responsible for sanitarium work. This holy, set-apart way of life enables God's people to represent Christ properly and to honor Him before the world through lives shaped by God's keeping grace. Children are His peculiar treasure and younger members of His family, to be carefully taught and trained for His service and distinguished from the world by faith and circumspect behavior.