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.
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.
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):
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):
- torso, adding a small allowance along the edges that will be covered by his blanket, arm and face
- blanket
- face, adding a small allowance to what will be covered by his hair and the rock
- 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
- rock
- 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 28Devotional
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.
Have you met Jesus in your dreams?
