In Genesis chapter 5, we are given the lineage of Adam to Noah, along with their ages at death, and a secret message hidden in what many would consider a rather boring Bible passage.
The poem that inspired me is about Methuselah, and how he would need sooooo many candles on his birthday cake. It has a picture of a massive tiered cake with a tonne of candles on it, and I always loved that page as a child.
The other thing that inspired this page was hearing about the hidden message in the meaning of the names in this lineage. I heard it first in a sermon I think. You can find a detailed explanation here.
Basically, when you read the meaning of each name in the lineage as a list, a secret message is revealed.
Hidden messages like this are evidence of God's design and inspiration in the Bible writings.
Memory Verse: Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” Genesis 5:29 NASB
Materials needed to create the Lineage Birthday Cake quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet. I used mid blue.
- felt scraps
- sparkly felt for icing (optional)
- sewing thread to match each colour of felt
- magnets - I used 5mm craft neodymium magnets, but you need to be careful with these... they are very strong magnets so they are dangerous if swallowed
- four small buttons
- round black elastic
- sewing machine with font function (or alternate method e.g. hand embroidery, fabric marker or transfer paper)
- things to decorate the cake e.g. strawberries (optional).
- the free template
Use the complete cake guide to work out where to position your cake on the page. There are two options, one with candles and one without. Since the candles sit higher than the cake, I thought I better include them so you can see how high they would sit. But since they are very close to the edge of the pattern paper, I thought it might not print properly, so I did one without as well.
Place pins as markers through each 'X'. This is where your magnets will be sewn down under the small squares of felt. Sew your magnets in position, ensuring that they are sewn down with the same side (north or south pole) facing up so that the candles all face the same way when put on the cake.
Write out your lettering using your chosen method (ensuring it will fit into that amount of space) and cut out one side of your candle set.
The name and age at death/translation side (and corresponding meaning side) should say:
Sew the flames down first and cut them out. Insert them under the top ends of the candles when you pin them on to the corresponding candle side. Make sure you line up the lettering properly on the opposite side.
Start sewing the candles from the bottom end, and when you get back around (but before you get right to the end), insert a magnet into the candle and then sew it closed. You can use a wooden skewer to help push the magnet in. Again, make sure you put the magnet in with the correct pole facing down so that the name side of the candle will face outwards when placed into the cake.
Check that the lettering has been lined up and sewn correctly, then cut out your candles.
Cut out your cake sections. I doubled each of my chocolate cake sections, but the felt I was using was rather thin. if you use thicker felt you will not have to.
Cut out and sew the icing sections to the top of each cake section. Use the complete cake guide to position them on your page in line with the magnet squares and sew them onto the page by the sides and bottom, leaving the section that has the icing sewn on it free to make a pocket for the candles. Do not sew down over the icing.
Cut out your bunting from the corresponding colours as indicated on page for of the template. I wrote the English words grammar words 'IS', 'BUT' & 'AND' on the back of the blue bunting, so it can be folded over when you line up the candles and help reveal the message - although I have just discovered I placed the words in the wrong order on the bunting... oh dear! At least we can still use it on the side without the writing and insert the words in our heads.
Fold your length of elastic in half, and starting at the folded end, wrap your bunting around both strings and pin. Leave a small loop of elastic at each end and spaces where indicated so you can button it onto the page. When everything is lined up and you have worked out how much length you will need, tie the ends of the elastic together and hide the knot inside the last piece of bunting.
The bunting colours have been co-ordinated so that there is blue bunting the same colour as the candles in all the spots where an English word needs to be inserted for the grammar to make sense. There is no magnet inside the blue bunting, but sew all the rest with a magnet inside for the candle to attach to so you can reveal the hidden message by lining them up. Again, ensure that the magnet's pole is positioned so that the meaning side of the candle faces outwards when attached to the bunting. Just sew in a V shape, going over the top of the elastic so it stops the bunting moving around and the magnet can't fall out.
Lay out the bunting on the page above the cake and mark and sew the buttons in place.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to include the strawberries, and how to attach them. I was considering hot glue or press studs, but I ended up just putting them in a small zip lock bag in the middle pocket. That way they can be played with but are not permanently attached.
Place pins as markers through each 'X'. This is where your magnets will be sewn down under the small squares of felt. Sew your magnets in position, ensuring that they are sewn down with the same side (north or south pole) facing up so that the candles all face the same way when put on the cake.
Write out your lettering using your chosen method (ensuring it will fit into that amount of space) and cut out one side of your candle set.
The name and age at death/translation side (and corresponding meaning side) should say:
- Adam 930 (Man)
- Seth 912 (Appointed)
- Enosh 905 (Mortal)
- Keenan 910 (Sorrow)
- Mahalalel 895 (The Blessed God)
- Jared 962 (Shall Come Down)
- Enoch 365 (Teaching)
- Methuselah 969 (His Death Shall Bring)
- Lamech 777 (Despairing)
- Noah (Comfort and Rest)
Sew the flames down first and cut them out. Insert them under the top ends of the candles when you pin them on to the corresponding candle side. Make sure you line up the lettering properly on the opposite side.
Start sewing the candles from the bottom end, and when you get back around (but before you get right to the end), insert a magnet into the candle and then sew it closed. You can use a wooden skewer to help push the magnet in. Again, make sure you put the magnet in with the correct pole facing down so that the name side of the candle will face outwards when placed into the cake.
Check that the lettering has been lined up and sewn correctly, then cut out your candles.
Cut out your cake sections. I doubled each of my chocolate cake sections, but the felt I was using was rather thin. if you use thicker felt you will not have to.
Cut out and sew the icing sections to the top of each cake section. Use the complete cake guide to position them on your page in line with the magnet squares and sew them onto the page by the sides and bottom, leaving the section that has the icing sewn on it free to make a pocket for the candles. Do not sew down over the icing.
Cut out your bunting from the corresponding colours as indicated on page for of the template. I wrote the English words grammar words 'IS', 'BUT' & 'AND' on the back of the blue bunting, so it can be folded over when you line up the candles and help reveal the message - although I have just discovered I placed the words in the wrong order on the bunting... oh dear! At least we can still use it on the side without the writing and insert the words in our heads.
Fold your length of elastic in half, and starting at the folded end, wrap your bunting around both strings and pin. Leave a small loop of elastic at each end and spaces where indicated so you can button it onto the page. When everything is lined up and you have worked out how much length you will need, tie the ends of the elastic together and hide the knot inside the last piece of bunting.
The bunting colours have been co-ordinated so that there is blue bunting the same colour as the candles in all the spots where an English word needs to be inserted for the grammar to make sense. There is no magnet inside the blue bunting, but sew all the rest with a magnet inside for the candle to attach to so you can reveal the hidden message by lining them up. Again, ensure that the magnet's pole is positioned so that the meaning side of the candle faces outwards when attached to the bunting. Just sew in a V shape, going over the top of the elastic so it stops the bunting moving around and the magnet can't fall out.
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| "but" and "the" are the wrong way around :( |
Lay out the bunting on the page above the cake and mark and sew the buttons in place.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to include the strawberries, and how to attach them. I was considering hot glue or press studs, but I ended up just putting them in a small zip lock bag in the middle pocket. That way they can be played with but are not permanently attached.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Hard
Probably the most difficult aspects of creating this page is getting the magnets into the candles and bunting while sewing. You could make them slightly wider or hand sew those sections. Also, lining up the wording is a little confusing. If you don't have a machine with an alphabet, you could use a fabric marker, iron on transfer paper, or hand embroidery instead. Using a fabric marker or transfer paper might make it less confusing as you could do the writing after the candle and bunting are sewn together.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- Genesis 5 - This page tells the story of the secret message hidden in the lineage of Adam to Noah
- Imaginative Play - mmm, cake!
- Ordering - place the name candles in the correct order of creation/birth
- Magnets - the candles can be transferred from the cake to the bunting to reveal the hidden message
- Tucking - the candles have to be tucked under the flap of cake to magnet on properly
- Buttoning - the bunting elastic onto the page
- Reading - the names, meanings, and ages
- Decoding - find the hidden message
- 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 5Devotional
The idea for this page came from a combination of things... and very importantly, from a poem by Emily Hunter from The Bible-Time Nursery Rhyme Book. It was a very treasured book in my childhood - a gift from my parents for my third birthday. Now that Tahlia is three, I am greatly enjoying sharing it with her too. It comes VERY HIGHLY recommended from me! |
| Image Source |
The other thing that inspired this page was hearing about the hidden message in the meaning of the names in this lineage. I heard it first in a sermon I think. You can find a detailed explanation here.
Basically, when you read the meaning of each name in the lineage as a list, a secret message is revealed.
Adam = Man
Seth = Appointed
Enosh = Mortal
Kenan = Sorrow
Mahalalel = The Blessed God
Jared = Shall come down
Enoch = Teaching
Methuselah = His death shall bring
Lamech = The Despairing
Noah = Comfort (or Rest)
Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort/rest."
Hidden messages like this are evidence of God's design and inspiration in the Bible writings.
Methuselah has a double hidden meaning, because when he died, the flood came. It is thought that his name was intended to be a prophecy of the flood via his father Enoch. You can read more about this topic here.
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| Patriarchs from Adam to Israel (Jacob) Image Source |
The ages of the people in this chapter also holds significance, something I noticed when making this quiet book page. They all lived very long lives, but since Noah wasn't yet dead, his age at death is not mentioned until later in Genesis. I think it is rather significant that his death is not recorded in this section because through the story of the flood (the first destruction of the earth) Noah represents the faithful generation that will be living at Jesus' second coming, those who will not see death in the final destruction. They will receive comfort and rest.
