Teaching a meaningful message to kids doesn’t require an expensive prop; often you can use items children are already familiar with to relay a Bible message, like a blanket. Recently, I took inspiration from Deuteronomy 33:12, “Of Benjamin, he said, ‘The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.” (KJV) That verse and a medium-sized blanket made the perfect combination for a powerful object lesson that kids actually got! Here’s what I did…
I asked for a volunteer to help me demonstrate this message. We read the verse together, and we read both the NIV and KJV, so everyone would feel included. Then we talked about what this verse might mean. Kids had some ideas but weren’t really sure.
My volunteer stood next to me and we read the verse again. I tossed the blanket over the volunteer and then arranged it to cover their whole body. I told the kids, “When God says He will cover us, that means He will protect us and He will stay with us. This blanket is completely covering Joe. You can’t see him at all because the blanket is large enough to cover him. God’s Spirit protects us. He stays with us!”
Next, I removed the blanket and we read the last part of the verse again, “He shall dwell between his shoulders.” I say, “I wonder what that means? Let’s see!” I arrange the blanket to look like a cape, tied around the neck (loosely) and resting from the shoulders.
“Wow! What does that look like?” (Kids will say, “A cape!) “Yes, that’s right! The verse says that He (God) will dwell between our shoulders. That means, he makes us strong, gives us Spirit power! Isn’t that awesome?”
Lastly, I played some soft worship music and asked any kids who wanted to participate to line up and wear the blanket. I took turns tossing the blanket over each kid and declaring the Benjamin blessing. It was a moving service, one that I think kids will remember.
