This week’s Abraham workshop was crafts. Using the Bible Times Crafts for Kids instructions we made tunics, belts (girdles), and headbands, and decorated them with symbols that reminded us of God’s promises to Abraham. Some kids drew stars and sand, some drew Egypt and the Exodus, there were a few drawings of Canaan, and everyone had a cross representing the fulfilled promise of Jesus.
We learned that tunics were more like coats than dresses (a relief to the boys in the class). The belt, or girdle, was used to keep the tunic from being free flowing and could hold money or other valuables. Also, we put tassels on our belts to remind us of God’s commandments. As a bit of trivia, the phrase “gird your loins” means to lift up and tuck your tunic into your your girdle so that your legs are more mobile and can run. The phrase’s implication in the New Testament means to be ready and prepared. The class brainstormed the kind of things Abraham might have needed to be prepared for. To wrap up our outfit we made head coverings with headbands. Head coverings protect from the sun, and thus loss of water from the body (easy to sweat to death in the desert). The headbands were used to keep the cloth in place, and also to indicate status. For example, some research I read said married women put coins on their headbands to show they were married, just like married women today have wedding rings. Remember the parable Jesus told of the woman searching for her lost coin? She was looking for the equivalent of a diamond from her wedding ring!
The kids had fun learning the trivia behind each piece of clothing and imagining what Abraham looked like in his clothing. But the most important part of the lesson was decorating our clothes with tassels and symbols to remind us of God’s unfailing promises.
