I’m in a small group of women who have been engaged in a summer of encouragement devotional reading. It has included a very good couple of weeks of daily readings on Gideon. As I was reflecting on Gideon this is something that I recognized from his story and many other stories of unexpected heroes used byGideon- a weak man from a small clan in the tribe of Manasseh who was a son of Joseph. Although Manasseh was born of a foreign mother in a foreign land he and his brother Ephraim were “adopted” by the patriarch Jacob into the family of God’s people in full standing with the other brothers’ tribes in recognition of Joseph’s legacy as one who saved God’s people in a time of severe famine. Manasseh’s tribe (and the faithfulness of his father Joseph) was honored by God by bringing forth another defender and protector in another generation for His people. God raises up mighty people from among the least likely places. If you look closely you can see the red thread of God’s redemption at work in every age and generation…… It is always at work even in what appear to be the hardest of times. Cathy Byrd 7/13/25
