Genesis 37 - Joseph's Coat Quiet Book Page

In Genesis 37, Joseph is given a special coat by his father - his brothers get jealous and sell him as a slave.

Memory Verse: “Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”” Genesis 37:19-20

Materials needed to create the Joseph's Coat quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used green
• felt scrap in brown for the back of the pit pocket
• hot glue and glue gun
• Betty Lukens Felt book 01 Bible Stories available at Koorong
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!

Cut out all the pieces for this page, and the page itself from the set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Cut out a section of brown felt to cover above the pit pocket to as far down the page as you can manage whilst leaving room to sew the page onto the background felt sheet. Hot glue it in position along the top edge of the pit and down both sides and the bottom to form a pocket for the small Joseph.

Sew the page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside (or better yet, play with them)!

Finished!

The pocket is not big enough so Joseph looks like he could easily get out!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 37 - jealousy can lead to devastating results
• Imaginative play - tell the story of Joseph - his dreams, his coat of many colours, and how he was treated badly by his brothers and sold as a slave to Egypt
• Dress up - dress Joseph in his coat of many colours
• Colours - name all the colours on Joseph's coat
• Inserting - insert Joseph into the pit pocket
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Genesis 37

Devotional

What a difficult life for a young man to find himself in suddenly! One minute the favourite son of a wealthy man, the next a slave in a foreign country. Nevertheless it seems that his father had brought him up with good values despite his favouritism because we find Joseph sticking to his God and his morals through some very tough circumstances.

Whilst scripture doesn't say what the heinous crime that Joseph dobs his brothers in to their father for, the rabbis have recorded it in chapter 38 of the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. While you might not believe everything written in this document, the reason Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers and the flocks makes sense in this context. Apparently Zilpah and Bilhah's sons were eating the flesh of the animals in the flocks whilst the animals were still alive. Pretty gruesome no matter how you interpret that. And quite a no-no for a group of people who were bound by kosher law to drain the blood before roasting the meat. If they were in that much of a hurry to eat that they didn't bother to kill the animal, I can only imagine what passed through their lips. Eww.

It may be that Jacob's favouritism of Joseph was well deserved. And it may be that the coat was a present to try to cheer him up after enduring the harsh treatment of his brothers, who knows? There is a lot of back-story missing I think.

Joseph's clothes give punctuation to his story. I love the Joseph quiet book page that Patricia from Patty Cake Cafe made (with a free template) showing all four of Joseph's "costume changes" as he passes through each stage of his life.

The four stages are:

1. Favoured son
2. Slave in Egypt
3. Prisoner in Egypt
4. Pharaoh's Second-in-command

Image source

The coat of many colours is a bit of a mystery. The fact that Jacob made it kinda says to me that he was still a bit of a Mama's Boy. Weaving was a woman's job.  It takes longer to weave using many colours, so that increases it's value. But was the coat made of many colours? Scholars are not so sure. The word is largely unknown in the Bible, being used only one other time in connection to Tamar the daughter of King David. Some think that this coat was 'girly', and I think I remember reading in Robert Alter's commentary on Genesis that Jacob calls his other sons 'handsome' but Joseph he calls 'beautiful', presumably because he looked like his mother Rachel. While this is all very interesting, I can hardly imagine Joseph's brothers being jealous of a 'girly' robe.

Other scholars I read said that the word more likely refers to the arm-length of the robe. I guess it would also take longer to weave a coat with sleeves in it, so it would also be more valuable. It probably reached to the palms of his hands, and a coat like that was not made for hard work. Perhaps Jacob kept him from hard work in order to keep him from being corrupted by his brothers. Or perhaps he wanted to keep him home to teach him God's word as it had been revealed that Joseph was to be the leader of the family through his dreams.

Whatever the case, Joseph's coat has a story to tell. And I am sure his brothers enjoyed dirtying it up on him. But they couldn't stop God's plan for Joseph. In fact their attempt to rid themselves of him ultimately helped Joseph achieve his greatness. So next time you are in a tough situation, just remember that all things work together for the good of those who love the LORD (Romans 8:28) just as they did for Joseph.

The same is true for the story of Jesus. It is well-known that Joseph is a type of Christ. There are many similarities occurring within the two stories. Whilst Jesus started out as the favoured Son of God in Heaven, like Joseph He lost His glory, descending to Earth and was sold, betrayed, and was unrecognised by His brethren, but will ultimately take up a position of power once again. The Jewish leaders betrayal of Jesus ultimately helped Him achieve God's plan of reconciling man to Himself by providing for our sins, just as Joseph's betrayal ultimately led to reconciliation with and provision for his brothers.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Jacob and Sons/Joseph's Coat

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What have you always imagined Joseph's coat looking like?

Malachi 4 - Sun of Righteousness Quiet Book Page

Malachi 4 is the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament and it looks forward to the dawning of the Sun of Righteousness - Jesus.

Memory Verse: “But for you who fear my name, 

the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings." Malachi 4:2a

Materials needed to create the Sun of Righteousness quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used royal blue
• felt scraps in sun colours, I used yellow, orange, red and maroon
• lots of ribbon scraps in gold, yellow, orange, red, maroon, brown, pink or whatever colours go with your chosen felt colours
• a pair of white shoelaces with blue flecks - I bought mine here in white blue (not an affiliate link)
• my free Sun of Righteousness template download

Use the template to cut out four pieces of felt in coordinating sun colours. If your page size is smaller than mine, you can cut the template in half and make a quarter sun or use the smaller four layers and leave out the largest one. To make this page for the sun of righteousness, you need four layers only. If you are making a sun page in general, feel free to use all five layers.

If you are making the Bible version, you need all four ends of the shoelaces but one long length will suffice for a general sun page.

Cut up enough coordinating ribbons to fill the top edges of each layer, leaving room for a shoelace at one end of each. Melt the edges of your ribbons to prevent fraying.

Pin the ribbons leaving room for the shoelace under the yellow layer first. Before sewing them down, thread the shoelace through the ribbons to ensure you cut it at the correct length. Melt the end of the shoelace to prevent fraying.  Sew down the shoelace end underneath the layer before sewing down the felt on top of the ribbons which will secure them at the same time. Go backwards and forwards a couple of times in places where you are using thin ribbons to ensure they get caught in the stitching. Repeat this process for each layer, finishing with the smallest - alternate ends that the shoelace is located. Some ribbons thread easier from one direction than the other so ensure they are facing the right side for the shoelace location on that layer.

The first half explains how to sew this page and

the second half explains the spiritual significance.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy.

Cutting the semi-circles straight across the bottom edge will enable you to line them up easier, however, it may add too much bulk to the lower edge of the sun where they are all piled up.

You may be able to use the sections cut out of the centers of the semi-circles if you want to swap the order of colours around and make a second page at the same time.

Using a lunch box with dividers can help you get organised for a TV pinning session on the couch.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Malachi 4 - Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings, the tassels remind us of the commandments
• Threading - thread the shoelaces through the sun's rays
• Counting - count the number of rays on each layer
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Malachi 4

Devotional

In Numbers 15, God told Israel to make fringes on their garments and to put tassels on the four corners. The tassels had to have a blue thread running through them - so the shoelaces are meant to represent the tassels and the sun's ribbon rays are indicative of the fringes. The blue thread was to remind them to keep the commandments - something which seems a little odd don't you think? How does a blue thread remind you of the commandments??

The rounded shape depicting the tablets of the 10 commandments was probably introduced in about the middle ages by Christian artists.

Aron de Chaves \ de Chavez. Painter at Amsterdam in 1700.

However, both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds (Jewish commentaries on scripture) report that the shape was square. It was half as thick as it was wide and high so when both tablets were placed together they formed a cube. They were made from sapphire stone, which is why a blue thread is supposed to remind you of the blue stone of the commandments.

Image Source: A Layman Looks at the Word

Jesus would have worn a prayer shawl similar to the one below. The word for the tassels in Hebrew is the same word used in Malachi for "wings". The woman who had an issue of blood in Matthew, Mark, and Luke must have known this prophecy and believed Jesus to be the Sun of Righteousness therein. So she figured if she could just touch His tassels she would be healed. She was!

A tallit, or prayer shawl with fringes and
tassels - like Jesus would have worn

There were many people in the crowd no doubt jostling Jesus, but her touch drew power. Faith made the difference. It wasn't fancy - I doubt she even told anyone her plans. Her faith was silent until she had a story to tell.

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Have you heard about the "wings" on a prayer shawl before?

Isaiah 53 - Messiah ben Joseph Quiet Book Page

Isaiah 53 is a Messianic passage which describes the sacrificial death of the suffering servant (Messiah ben Joseph).

Memory Verse: “But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.

Materials needed to create the Messiah ben Joseph quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used mid blue
• four small nail looking shank buttons
• felt scraps in skin colour, hair colour, wood colour and parchment colour
• matching thread colours, and red thread (for the blood)
• air erasable marker (or pen)
• letter beads - or ink pads and small alphabet stamps or a permanent marker etc
• hot glue and glue gun
• my free Messiah ben Joseph template download

Cut out your template and most pieces from the felt scraps in appropriate colours. I find for intricate shapes (such as the section that needs to be cut from the inside of the legs) it is sometimes best to use a pen to draw the shape onto the felt and cut it out that way - of course you need to flip the pattern over and draw on the inside so it will be hidden when sewn together. I only cut the front of Jesus' body out and waited until I attached the front to the back to cut out the whole body.

The draw and cut method was certainly useful when trying to keep within the lines whilst sewing on Jesus' whip stripes. And of course you need to sew on the wound details in red thread before sewing the front body to the back. Jesus most likely received 39 stripes. Jewish law forbade any more than 40 (Deuteronomy 25:3) and in an effort not to cross this line, 39 were delivered just in case someone miscounted. Since the Roman whip had three tails on it, they would have delivered 13 strokes to make a total of 39 lashes.

39 stripes

Sew the front of Jesus' body to the back and cut it out. Then sew on the face - don't worry that you can see the stitching on the back as the hair will cover it. Use red thread to make small buttonholes to fit your buttons on the feet/ankle and wrist/hand areas.

For the hair, cut two fronts and sew them together, two backs and sew them together and then join the doubled front to the doubled back along the top of the hairline to a spot at about just above the nape of the head. Leaving the ends open will allow the hair to fit over the head and split over the shoulder. You will also be able to lift the hair at the back to see all of the stripes. Position the hair and secure in place using red thread on a zig-zag and/or decorative stitch to sew across the head to make a bloodied crown of thorns.

To make the sign for the top of the cross, sew the two white pieces of felt together and make a buttonhole the same size as the others using matching thread this time. It should be positioned down a ways from the top to allow room to roll the ends up. Use hot glue to keep the ends rolled in place. Hand sew on some beads to make a list of names on one side and to say "Messiah ben Joseph" on the other.

I did also try using stamps and ink for the lettering, but I don't think my ink was very good quality. You can see that it ran/separated a little, especially at the 'M' - it looks worse in real life. I have seen felt stamped before that turned out well. If you have good quality ink it might work better.

Sew down the cross onto your page and lay Jesus' body on top. Push sewing pins through the buttonholes to mark the position needed for the shank button nails. Add the sign and do the same. Hand sew the buttons on.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate.

It's not really hard, just a bit fiddly in some sections.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Isaiah 53 - Taking our place and dying on the cross was not an easy task. This prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled in such detail. Sin causes devastating consequences.
• Imaginative Play - Jesus died on the cross so we don't have to. Turn the sign at the top of the cross to reveal either your name/s or Messiah ben Joseph. You get to choose who pays the price for your sin.
• Buttoning - He died to pay for our sin so it is appropriate that our hands put the nails through.
• Counting - see if you can count the 39 stripes on Jesus' back.
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

I love you this much...

Read the Chapter

Isaiah 53

Devotional

I did question whether or not making this page was a good idea. The topic is not really a fun one and I didn't want to encourage disrespectful play. However, it is also the central topic of Christianity and it is rather difficult to create a Bible full of quiet book pages without featuring the cross.

The page was inspired by the buttons which looked to me like nails. I prayed about if I should go ahead with the idea and then decided to count how many buttons I had... if there were not enough then in a way it would be decided for me. I found exactly four and felt assured of approval.

Part of the message I wanted to portray with this page was that it is MY personal sin that Jesus died to pay for. Therefore it is appropriate that my own hand does the buttoning.

In times past Christians have blamed Jews and labelled them Christ-killers and given rise to massive antisemitism. Jews were driven from their homes and massacred during the crusades and the First and Second World Wars. I want to sincerely and profusely apologise for that. Anyone who wants to shift the blame in that way does not understand the gravity of their own sin, a point which the death of God's Son should certainly drive home.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Effectively, that cross had my name on it until I decided to ask Jesus to take my place. That is what the scroll meant to demonstrate... it has 'many' (unfortunately I could only fit four) names on one side, and the other is labelled with 'Messiah ben Joseph' our suffering servant.

In Jewish eschatology there is a belief that there are to be four Messianic figures: Elijah, Messiah ben Joseph, Messiah ben David and the Righteous Priest termed collectively the Four Craftsmen. There are correlations with the Christian belief in the two comings of the Messiah. At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled the role of Messiah ben Joseph, which Christians term 'the suffering servant', and at His second coming, we believe that He will fulfill the role of Messiah ben David or what we term 'King Messiah'. We also believe Jesus is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek. In Malachi 4, Elijah was prophesied to return and in the New Testament people asked John the Baptist 'Are you Elijah'? Although he denied being Elijah or the prophet - Moses (John 1:21), perhaps an effort to deflect attention away from him and towards Christ, Jesus did imply he played the role of Elijah (Matthew 17:12). But of course the real Elijah and Moses did return prior to the cross at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9, 2 Peter 1).

Interestingly enough here are some of the traits attributed to Messiah ben Joseph and how I can see them relating to Jesus' first coming:

• He is the leader of the lost ten tribes and/or all Israel - Christians believe we represent spiritually the lost ten tribes who were scattered among all nations. It is said that in the future He will bring back the exiles and rebuild the land of Israel. Christians believe that this will be fulfilled by Jesus at his second coming.

• 'Ben' means 'son (of)' in Hebrew, and Jesus was known as the son of Joseph (his legal father).

• Joseph is also meant to refer to the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim) which was in the north and is linked to both the lost ten tribes and the physical northern area of Israel (i.e. Nazareth/Galilee area where Jesus was from). 

• A stone tablet called Gabriel's Revelation refers to a Messianic figure from Ephraim who will break evil in three days - Jesus breaks the power of evil by dying on the cross and rising to life again in three days. Messiah ben Joseph is also associated with the rebuilding of the temple (hence why he is a craftsmen) - something Jesus claims he will do in three days referring to his bodily resurrection. 

• Messiah ben Joseph is willing if necessary to die battling evil forces and the enemies of God and would receive an inadequate burial - which indeed happened to Jesus. Perhaps not in the way the Jews envisioned a battle would take place but it was the greatest battle ever fought and won. 

• Later God would resurrect the dead and a peaceful Messianic era would follow with Messiah ben David ruling (sounds like Heaven to me). 

Your thoughts are welcome...

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Hearing from you gives me great encouragement!

Micah 5 - Oh Little Town of Bethlehem Quiet Book Page

Micah chapter 5 predicts the birth place of the Messiah - Bethlehem.

Memory Verse: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be Ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth are from of old,

From everlasting.” Micah 5:2.

.

Materials needed to create the Oh Little Town of Bethlehem quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used red.
• Betty Lukens Felt book 01 Bible Stories available at Koorong.
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!

Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Micah 5 - Learn about how Jesus fulfilled this Old Testament prophecy by being born in Bethlehem
• Imaginative Play - Which of the animals is going to get to see Baby Jesus first?
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Micah 5

Devotional

Bethlehem can mean "House of bread" in Hebrew. Here we have the bread from Heaven / bread of life (John 6:25-59) in a very impoverished 'house'. I guess when you see the Majesty of God, it shows off how wretched, poor, blind, naked and filthy our condition really is.

This prophecy is just one of over three hundred that Jesus fulfilled. The video below talks about the mathematical possibility of Jesus fulfilling just six of those, one being a 1 in 3968 chance of being born in Bethlehem.

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Share your favourite fulfilled prophecies below in the comments.

Isaiah 9 - Unto us a Son is Born Quiet Book Page

In Isaiah chapter 9, a prediction of the Messiah's birth occurs.

Memory Verse: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Materials needed to create Unto Us a Son is Born quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used mid blue.
• purple ribbon scrap
• felt scraps in white, gray, yellow, orange, straw, dark brown, mid brown, tan, and various purples
• a yellow/gold shank button with a loop back - this is too accommodate the thickness of four layers of felt used on the star
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors
• the free template available from A Felt Nativity Story by Stay at Home Educator 
• my free template - which includes the extra pieces missing from A Felt Nativity Story by Stay at Home Educator as an added bonus! Most of them are untested, but I am confident they will work - I have made a few templates in my time.

From the felt nativity story template, I used Joseph's body for both Joseph and Mary. I used two of the wise men's clothes for them because they are easily able to be adapted to form pockets to enable cuddling of Baby Jesus. First cut out one of all the pieces and arrange them on your page to make sure they fit. You will need to adapt your pieces somewhat to be able to form a pocket with Mary and Joseph's clothes. I will try to explain adequately below.

Baby Jesus: sew down the pieces for baby Jesus in the order of face followed by swaddling onto a doubled layer white background. When you have gone around the saddling, sew around his head on the white felt. Cut around the edge leaving a white border around Baby Jesus' head.

Manger: sew down the pieces for the manger and straw in that order onto a sheet of felt the same colour as the manger. I used chocolate brown. Then cut it out. Pin it to the page and cut a length of purple ribbon for a blanket and melt the ends with a match to prevent fraying. Pin it in position so it will fold over baby Jesus and form a blanket. Unpin the manger and sew down the ribbon at the bottom edge where it won't be seen under the manger. Then re-position the manger and sew it down around the outside edge leaving the top straw side open to form a pocket for baby Jesus to sleep in.

Star of David Sun: first choose the size appropriate for your button and cut out one star and sew it down to the same yellow felt. Cut it out after sewing it down. Then cut out the corresponding sized circle out of orange felt and layer a piece of orange felt topped by the Star of David and the circle of orange felt on top of that.

Sew down the circle. Sew the appropriate sized button hole onto a scrap piece of felt so you can mark with sewing pins on your sun where to start your button hole.

Sew a buttonhole the appropriate size for your button in the middle of your star and open it up with a seam ripper.

Then cut out the star by cutting the bottom orange layer by following the circle shape at the top. Fold back the yellow star points as you cut around so you don't cut them off. Hand sew the shank button to your page. Button on the sun.

Mary: Use a few of your pieces to line up Mary again, and sew down the back of her head covering and then her body on top. The photo is to show the positioning - not which sections to sew down.

Sew down the two purple pieces onto a white sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of her dress. Then trim the section of white from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. See below.

Pin the dress on top and sew matching your thread to the white and purple sections. Stop at the spot where the purple cuts across Mary's chest to form a pocket opening so Mary can cuddle baby Jesus.

Next sew down Mary's head and hair. Sew her front head covering down onto the same white sheet of felt it was cut from so it is double thickness. Cut it out and then sew it down along the outside edge.

Joseph: When cutting out Joseph's clothes, cut off one shoulder from the Y shaped pattern pieces. When you cut out the pieces out of felt, extend the length of the pieces you cut off from the Y shape so they extend underneath the other and into the pocket.

Position and sew the back of Joseph's head covering, followed by his body. Then sew down the extended shoulder pieces the go underneath Joseph's outer robe into the pocket. Sew down his head and hair.

Similar to Mary, sew down the two purple pieces on top of each other onto a grey sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of his robe. Then trim the section of grey from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. Pin the robe on top of his body and sew matching your thread to the grey and purple sections. Stop at a spot a little below where the purple cuts across Joseph's chest to form a pocket opening so he can cuddle baby Jesus too. Why is it always Mary that gets all the cuddles? I'm sure Joseph tried to be a good Step-Dad and gave Jesus plenty of cuddles.

Lastly, Sew down the front of his head covering onto another gray sheet of felt to double it up so it is strong. Then cut it out and position it, sewing only along the outer edge.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate.

However - A Felt Nativity Story board by Stay at Home Educator is easy! I included the missing pieces in my free template above.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Isaiah 9 - This page tells about how God told Isaiah about the birth of the Messiah around 500 years before the fact - He came from Royal lineage as predicted
• Imaginative Play - The baby can have cuddles with Mummy and Daddy, wear His crown/halo, and sleep in His royal-blanky bed
• Tucking - Tuck baby Jesus into his manger-bed and tack the blanket in over the top
• Buttoning - Button and un-button the sun
• Shapes - Learn the shape of a Star of David and sun
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Isaiah 9

Devotional

Isaiah prophesied Jesus birth around 600-700 years before the event.

Jesus is the sun of righteousness mentioned in this chapter. I made a Star of David shaped sun that can be buttoned on and off the page - and can be used as an impromptu crown or halo on Jesus' head.

This quiet book page features a lot of purple - because the government will be on His shoulders and that is the Royal colour. I gave Jesus a purple blanket for the same reason. It kinda annoys me when they picture Him in prickly hay. As if his Mama wouldn't put a blanky down first!!

Both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David (government) - although Joseph was a descendant through the line of Jeconiah and therefore not eligible to be a forebear of the Messiah. I will write about that in another devotional, however.

Which brings me to the next part of this devotional... hidden information regarding the virgin birth.

There are countless fascinating things to discover when you start studying the Bible. You might be frightened that you will learn everything there is to know, but you are quite safe to believe you will never get to that stage. The Holy Spirit has inspired so many secret layers of meaning (that probably the original writers did not even realize they were hiding in the writing) that we will never run out of learning.

Image source

There are two ways of writing the Hebrew letter mem - 'M' in English. they are called an open mem and a closed mem, referring to the gap or no gap formed in the letter when writing it. Correct Hebrew grammar rules that the closed mem is only ever used at the end of a word. Theses rules are followed everywhere in the Bible except in one word in a passage in Isaiah 9.  If you are curious as to why the rule is broken here and how that is significant to the prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth, please read this article from JewishRoots.net and even if you don't read the whole article - make sure you follow the link in the article to a two and a bit page PDF entitled The Mystery of the Closed Mem by Daniel Botkin. It is large writing and an easy read, and WELL worth it!

For unto us A Child is Born - Handel's Messiah

Tahlia had fun pretending to conduct the orchestra and choir for this clip!!

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Do you imagine a blankie in the manger too?

Psalm 9 - David and Unnamed Goliath Quiet Book Page

Although he is not named, Psalm 9 was probably written to remember the victory over Goliath. Here is a David and Goliath quiet book page I made from a printable I found online. David's arm swings his sling, the stone sails through the air, and when it hits Goliath, he can fall over:

Memory Verse: "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done." Psalm 9:10,11.

Materials needed to make the David and Unnamed Goliath Quiet Book Page:

• A4 felt background sheet, we used red.
• thick white felt big enough to iron the bushes scene on to
• white stiffened felt to iron David's arm, Goliath, and the stone on to
• three split pins
• white thread
• iron on transfer paper suitable for your printer
• the printable illustration by Carol Stevens at www.lds.org

Print out the image onto iron on transfer paper. If you want David and Goliath to appear on the same sides as they do in the illustration, make sure you flip the image first because it will get flipped back again when you iron it onto the transfer paper.

Cut out the David and bushes scene from the transfer paper. Try to use as many rounded edges as you can to minimize the chance of the transfer paper peeling off in the future. Iron it onto thick white felt, following the instructions of your transfer paper. You may not be able to use as high a setting on the iron as recommended if you are using acrylic felt as it might get burned. My image still stuck to the felt on a lower setting.

Cut out the David and bushes scene again, this time leaving a border of white felt. Fold the felt where the A, B, and C markings are, and cut two angled slits to make a small hole at each point.

Cut out David's arm, Goliath, and the stone as one section from the transfer paper and iron onto the stiffened felt following the instructions of your transfer paper. Again, use a lower setting so as not to burn the felt if it's acrylic.

Cut out David's arm, Goliath, and the stone from the stiffened felt but do not leave a border this time. Fold the stiffened felt where the A, B, and C markings are, and cut two angled slits to make a small hole at each point.

Line up the corresponding holes: A, B, and C. Make sure David's arm and Goliath are sitting on top of the bushes and the arm of the stone is behind the bushes. Insert a split pin in each hole and bend the splits at the back so they can't come out but allow the pieces to move fairly freely.

Sew the bushes scene onto the background sheet along the sides and bottom, ensuring you do not catch any of the pieces along the way.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy

This page involves very little sewing, and if you wanted too, you could hot glue that small section.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Psalm 9 - This page tells the story of Psalm 9, where David praises God for the victory given against Goliath, the unnamed Champion, and inadvertently, the victory He gives through the death of the son, Jesus, symbolized by the red felt background.
• Rotation - the circular movement of an object around a fixed point, like David's arm, the stone, and Goliath
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Psalm 9

Devotional

As I already have a David and Goliath quiet book page for 1 Samuel 17, I thought I might be able to find a Psalm commemorating the victory to use this page for. It is so cute, I couldn't resist doing it whether I could find something or not. I was very surprised that Goliath is not really mentioned by name anywhere else but in 1 Samuel 17, where the story of David and Goliath takes place, although his sword, his brother and his sons are mentioned. As a side note, there is an apocryphal Psalm, Psalm 151, which mentions Goliath by name. Click here to read about it on Wikipedia.

Nevertheless, Jewish tradition and Christian scholars both assert Psalm 9 was written to remember the victory over Goliath. It was probably written later in David's life when he was king in Jerusalem since Jerusalem is mentioned and before David conquered it, it was a Jebusite city.

Read Psalm 9 and see which sections you can identify with the story. I noticed:

• verse 1 - I will tell of all your wonderful deeds... i.e. helping me kill Goliath
• verse 3 - David mentions his enemies falling, just as Goliath did
• verse 5 - God has destroyed the wicked and blotted out their name, and this psalm, although about the victory over Goliath, refuses to mention his name!
• verse 10 - those who know God's name will put their trust in Him, just like David did when he went out as a child to meet a giant without any armor, sword, or the backing of his people
• verse 11 - declare God's deeds among His people, just as David is doing in this Psalm
• verse 16 - the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands, as Goliath brought about his own death by setting himself up as a poster boy against God 
• verse 20 - asking God to help people realize that they are but men, Goliath may have been a giant and champion warrior, but he was still mortal

The title of Psalm 9 says it is to be sung to the tune "The Death of the Son". This phrase is interestingly explained in the book The Titles of the Psalms, published in 1904, and written by James William Thirtle.

I read on page 71 that it can also be translated to mean "death of a champion" ie Goliath, and that it was interpreted into Aramaic by Jewish scholars as the death of "a man who stood between the two" (ie army camps) when Aramaic became the common language.

When I read about the death of "a man who stood between the two" I knew Psalm 9 had a double meaning referring to Jesus - the man who stood between Heaven and Earth.

Read Psalm 9 again with this context in mind and see what you find. I noticed:

• verse 1 - I will tell of all your wonderful deeds... i.e. the death of the son, the man who stood between the two realms mediating for man before God.
• verse 10 - those who know your name, Jesus, trust in you
• verse 11- proclaim among the nations what He has done. How the son loved us so much that He was willing to die in our place and take the punishment for our sin.
• verse 13,14 - lift me up from the gates of death (resurrect me) that I may declare your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion {(New) Jerusalem} and rejoice in your salvation, salvation being the meaning of the name Jesus! Jesus is the only one who is able to give life to those deserving of death, and proved that it is possible by His resurrection.
• verse 16 - the wicked are ensnared by the works of their own hands, as we all would be except we accept the covering of God's grace, Jesus.

If you notice things I have missed, please share and comment below!

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What are your thoughts on this quiet book page?

Genesis 28 - Jacob's Ladder Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 28, God appears to Jacob in a dream at the top of a ladder stretching from Heaven to Earth, upon which angels are ascending and descending, and promises to bless him.

Memory verse: "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15.

Materials needed to create the Jacob's Ladder quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet in a dark colour. I used navy.
• felt scraps, in skin colour, grey, dark brown, mid brown, and red
• 36 angel beads, make sure the hole goes through them horizontally not vertically - I used these, you could also use these (not affiliate links)
• yellow or gold ribbon/s
• sewing thread to match each colour of ribbon and felt
• a sleeping Jacob template - I used this colouring page from azcolouing.com

Cut out the template as a complete Jacob and position it at the bottom of your sheet of felt. Cut two lengths of your ladder side ribbons and burn the ends so they do not fray. Position them so the ends will be underneath the template of Jacob and run off the upper edge of the page. You can tuck them in when you sew the pages back to back to make a book. Pin the ribbons in place temporarily. Cut eight lengths of your rung ribbons to fit the width of the ladder and burn the ends so they do not fray. String on your angel beads, one on the highest rung ribbon, two on the second and so forth until you have eight on the lowest ribbon. Pin the ribbons so they are evenly spaced and the ends will lie underneath the ladder side ribbons. You can remove the ladder side ribbons, then sew down the rung ribbon ends. Re-position your side ribbons and sew in place.

Cut out each section of Jacob to use as a pattern out of a new template (you will have to print it out about 3 times):

1. torso, adding a small allowance along the edges that will be covered by his blanket, arm and face
2. blanket
3. face, adding a small allowance to what will be covered by his hair and the rock
4. hair, forget about the ear, just make his hair follow it's course had their been no ear sticking out, add a small allowance for what will be covered by the rock
5. rock
6. arm

Sew each piece down in the order listed above, matching your threads to your chosen colours. Use the complete Jacob template to make it easier to line up the pieces. 

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

This page is rather easy, but things can go wrong, particularly when sewing down the ribbons which house the angel beads. Try to get it tight so the angel beads don't hang down, but sit straight on the page.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 28 - This page tells the story of Jacob's ladder, where God appeared to Jacob in a dream and reassured him that the promises of land and descendants given to Abraham and Issac would be fulfilled through his line
• Counting - count the angel beads
• Directions - up, down, left, right - flip the angels so they are ascending or descending the ladder, and move the angels left or right across the ribbon
• Gematria - the meaning of the number eight in scripture. See the devotional section below
• Angels - there are different types of angels - archangels, seraphim, cherubim, guardian, etc
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Genesis 28

Devotional

In the previous chapter of Genesis, Jacob has just stolen his brother's blessing, not to be confused with his brother's birthright which he willingly sold to Jacob in Genesis 25. He now has to run for fear of his life. His father sends him to his mother's family in search of a Godly wife, and on the way, Jacob has this dream. I assume Jacob was feeling rather guilty and unworthy of the blessing he has just stolen, and God takes pity on him and reassures him that he is the one who will fulfill His purposes.

I have a feeling that Jacob desired to be chosen by God so badly that he was willing to steal to get it. I can relate to this because I wanted to be baptized so badly that I was willing to lie in order to have it happen. I do not fully agree with all the tenets of my denomination, but I said I did in order to get baptized. Looking back, I can see many ways to get around this issue, and indeed, you no longer need to pledge all these things prior to baptism. But I can definitely relate to Jacob's situation here, and I guess it is encouraging to see God's response!

I chose to have eight rungs on the ladder. The number eight in scripture has to do with new beginnings, and I suppose that is just what Jacob is getting here. Also, the gematria of Jesus is 888. I am not talking about numerology, but numbers in scripture can deepen your understanding of the plain text. Of course, it can be taken too far... You can read about the relationship of Hebrew and Greek letters and words to their numeric values (similar to Roman numerals) in this brief article on gematria by Matt Slick on the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website.

As I mentioned earlier, the ladder represents Jesus (John 1:50-51), and I will refer you to this very short but very good explanation by LaVista Church of Christ.

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Have you met Jesus in your dreams?