There are many Jacobs ladder crafts out there for this passage, and that’s great, but when reality hits and the dream is over I love how this craft captures Jacobs response. He wants to mark this place as holy, mark the experience and promise with something tangible. The practice of marking things with stones or piles of stones (cairns) is well practiced in many cultures.
I’ve used packaging card for this craft but you could just as easily use craft foam, or real stones. Make sure your glue suits your chosen materials.
The star in this story is no so much either brother and their dim-wittedness or cruel bargain, but a lumpy bowl of red lentil stew. Make your won bowl of stew in this 3 dimensional papercraft. You could make it extra authentic by sticking some lentils inside.
Jacob and Esau have this strange little passage in Genesis where the birth-right is sold for something as insignificant as a bowl of stew. It’s got all the hallmarks of a family ‘in-joke’ and yet this odd little conversation of two young men handing over birth-rights like a candy bar will echo down thought Jacob and Esau’s story. This very simple papercraft captures the moment it happens.
There is an important moment in this story when Rebekah sees Isaac covers herself with a veil. Why she does this is debated. Some say it’s because she wants to soften or hide her face from her betrothed because it is his place to unveil it. Others claim it was a sign of a free woman, no slave could do such a thing, nor one already taken in marriage. Veiling the bride however is something that’s familiar with even modern day wedding customs. This very simple colouring page craft allows the child to attach the veil. here I’ve used baking parchment but you could use fine tissue paper or even lace if it’s avalible.
Isaac and Rebekah have this lovely moment when dusty and tired Rebekah spots Isaac from her camel and picks him out at the handsome man in the field! This may seem a contrived tale but at it’s heart is a love story orchestrated through prayer. This super simple paper craft will be wobbling all over your craft table.
This is such a classical image, the basket and the lamp-stand, the light spilling out. This simple spinning craft which shows the basket being removed from the light is lovely for any age group though younger groups may benefit from the pieces being pre-cut.
For the play post this time round there are a couple of games that requie this set of cards. There are 21 cards in total spaced over 3 pages of printout. They are designed like the popular game ‘Dobble’ or ‘Spot it’ but have only 5 images rather than the usual 8. Every card in the pack had one image in common with another card.
Though these little baubles are linked to the Herod the Great lesson they are suitable for any Christmas lesson as there are 3 different designs – The Magi & Herod, the Shepherd & Angel and Mary & Joseph. Including Herod on our Christmas decorations reminds us of the darkness that came with the joy, the strife that accompanied The Prince of Peace arriving.
