All right, all right, join the Journey family, friends, and guests.

You're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining.

Today, we're reading Judges 13 through 15.

And I want you to imagine a wedding where the groom shows up in jeans and a t-shirt to the ceremony.

Everybody else is in formal attire, but he's insistent. I'm

still committed. Does it really matter how I show up? Now, on the other hand, picture someone who's

made a lifelong commitment to be set apart, someone whose life is marked by visible signs of

dedication, maybe say a nun, for example.

That's exactly what we're finding in judges 13 through 15, the story of Samson and the Nazarite

vow. But what was this vow all about and why does it matter for us today? Is it relevant?

Well, we live in a world where commitment is

often treated as optional, where standing out can feel more like a burden than a blessing,

and people can be flaky, canceling plans or commitments or goals at the last minute. Most people's

New Year's resolutions don't last through February.

But Samson's story and the Nazarite vow shows us something profound. Being set apart for God

isn't just about rules. It's about relationship. It's about radical devotion, which can always be

relevant. I'll say that again, it's not rules, it's radical devotion

in and through relationship, which is always relevant. So what was the Nazarite vow? The word

Nazarite comes from the Hebrew word Nazir, meaning to be set apart or consecrated. And this vow, which we read about back in number six,

you can flip back, look at your notes, read the Devo from that day, that vow was a voluntary

commitment to God marked by five primary features with three noticeable key restrictions.

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