isaiah is a wide open field as far as themes goes, so choosing which direction to take involved a little more reading, research, and prayer than the days before have. in the end, the advent goblins made their choice based on two important considerations:
1--spiritual: this year, our focus is on god's providence and his faithfulness to his people. so rather than looking at isaiah's zeal in defending the one true god, the goblins felt it would be more consistent to remember the promises god made and that he fulfilled them in his time.
2--practical: of the many passages they might have chosen, the goblins considered the section about the lion laying down with the lamb--however tomorrow we will read about daniel and they wanted to avoid having two lion crafts. :)
thus, the goblins decided to go with the passage that most directly addresses the story of jesus' birth, and it neatly offers a link to an enrichment opportunity that we are taking advantage of at home: listening to handel's messiah--the quincy jones one--which is my favorite interpretation.
you may copy and print out the note they left us if you wish. since the image at the top of the note is used to make the craft, i have included it here for you:
Many, many years before Jesus was born, people called prophets would bring God's message to the people of Israel. The prophets reminded the people of what God wanted them to do. God wanted them to be good and kind to others. The prophets told the people to worship only the one true God.
The prophets also reminded people that God had promised a savior. The prophets gave the people hope that no matter how bad things might be here on earth, God had not forgotten them. God was going to send a child who would grow to be the world's savior.
In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd discovered some of the oldest copies of books of the Bible in a cave in the Dead Sea. These 2,100-year-old manuscripts are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Isaiah scroll is the only complete scroll that was found.
Read Isaiah 9:2-7
Today's craft will contain a secret inside when you're done!
Cut a rectangle from a piece of writing paper. Using a marker, pen, paint, or pencil, copy the words from the scroll in the picture above. If you wish, you may draw or paint some small decorations around the words. You may also gently tear the edges to make your paper look older. Do not write or draw on the ends of the rectangle.
Decorate two popsicle sticks with marker or paint and let them dry.
Glue each short end of your rectangle to a popsicle stick. When the glue has dried, roll the sticks toward the middle of the rectangle until the meet, forming a scroll. Tie the scroll together with string so that it doesn't unroll.
Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree as a reminder that God promised us a Savior and He kept His promise.
here are a few pictures of how we made this crafts: