Rotation.org Writing Team

DEBORAH

COOKING

Passage: Judges 4:1-5:31

Key verse: Judges 5:31

Purpose

Children will learn about obedience and hospitality in Bible times.

Objectives for rotation

Children will:

Locate the story in the Bible; identify the book of Judges as an Old Testament book of history

Recognize the characters in the story and know something about them - Deborah: a judge, obedient to God, confident in her faith; Barak: military leader summoned by Deborah; Sisera: enemy general; Jael: a woman who hid Sisera but then killed him.

Explain the role and meaning of a judge in Old Testament times

Examine the cyclical structure of the background to this story: people go astray, there is suffering, the people ask God for help, God sends a judge who delivers, then the deliverer dies - and the cycle beings again. Discover a foreshadowing of the need for a leader who wouldn't die - Jesus.

Judge the actions of the characters in the story based on their obedience to God; extrapolate this to making judgements about our own choices.

Objectives for workshop

Children will:

explore foods made with goat milk

learn about food preparation

learn the importance of obedience

Preparation

Read Bible Background

Decide which recipe to use for each group. You may want to do the same thing for each, or a different one for each group. Suggestions are:

Goat milk fudge (middle-older children)

Cinnamon Cheese (younger or all ages)

Materials List

Goat Milk Fudge


• 3 cups sugar
  
• 2/3 cup goat milk
  
• 3/4 cup margarine
  
• 6 ounces chocolate chips
  
• 7 ounces marshmallow cream
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
  Cinnamon Cheese
  
  
• 1/2 pound cream cheese
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 1 teaspoon honey
  
  
• Crackers or toast
  
• Fruit, assorted (Optional)
  
  
• Bibles
  

Advance Preparation

Practice making/tasting the recipes, especially the fudge. It has to cool at room temperature, so you'll need to see if there is time to make it and let it cool enough. Children may balk at eating it if they are unfamiliar with goat milk. If goat milk is not readily available, be sure the recipe works with regular milk.

Presentation

Open -- Introduction

Welcome the children; open with prayer.

Ask: Do you like to cook? I do sometimes. When I cook I have to use a recipe. Do you know what that is? (Allow responses or explain).

Some people can create interesting dishes without using a recipe, but I need to use them. Recipes are very specific in their instructions and ingredients. If we follow it exactly, we will have a nice dish. But if we make too many changes or don't follow it, what will happen? (The dish won't be good; food will be wasted.)

One time I was making a pecan pie for Thanksgiving. I was in kind of a rush to get everything ready. The recipe said to "cook the sugar, then let it cool completely before adding the eggs in a gentle stream." Well, I cooked the sugar, but didn't think it really mattered if it was cool or not, so I started adding the eggs. Can you guess what happened? The hot sugar cooked the eggs! I ended up with "scrambled egg pecan pie!" I had to throw it away and start over. I didn't follow my instructions and wasted the ingredients.

Following a recipe is like following God. Do you know how? Our Bible gives us exact instructions for living. If we follow them (obey), we will be blessed. If we don't, what might happen? (Allow responses)

Dig -- Explore

Distribute Bibles. Let's find Judges, chapter 4, in our Bibles. (Read/paraphrase the story in sections so they can follow it better.)

Ask:

Who are the people in the story?
What did Sisera ask Jael for? (water)
What did she give him? (milk)
Why do you think she gave him milk and not water? (milk was easier to get than water; may have kept goats as a way to support the family)

Explain that you will be making fudge (or Cinnamon Cheese)

Have everyone wash hands

Divide into pairs or groups if desired

Set out ingredients

Help children measure ingredients and add to mixture.

Instructions for Goat Milk Fudge

Combine sugar, milk, and margarine in heavy quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to full rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Add marshmallow cream and vanilla, beating until well blended. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Cool at room temperature. You can add nuts if you wish also. The chocolate chips can be substituted with butterscotch chips or almond bark if you want to try different flavors of fudge.

Cinnamon Cheese instructions

Combine all ingredients. Store in refrigerator. This dish is excellent on toast. More honey may be added along with nuts and raisins, if desired.

Reflect -- Closure

As fudge is cooling, or while group is eating Cinnamon Cheese, discuss:

Say: We keep milk, cheese, and other dairy products in the refrigerator, but they didn't have that in Biblical times. When they got milk, they would make it into butter or cheese. Butter was often churned in goatskin bottles. The women would take turns rolling and shaking the skins. Goats were plentiful and water wasn't so milk or cheese became food staples.

As the food is eaten, review the story and the key verse.

Cut up the fudge and give a piece to each child. Clean up; close in prayer.

Additional suggestions

Serve goat (feta) cheese, crackers, and fruit instead of the fudge

Another recipe is "Sleepy Tea": 1 cup hibiscus flower tea, 1 cup milk (low fat or nonfat), 2 tablespoons honey. Prepare tea by letting it steep for at least 5 minutes. Add the milk and honey and stir well. (This might highlight the story better, but it might put everyone to sleep during church!)

Sources:

www.sugarmountainhome.com/milkncheese/fudge.html

www.gotmilk.com/recipes/recipes_drinks_sleepy_p.html

Goodman, Naomi, Robert Marcus, and Susan Woolhandler. The Good Book Cookbook - Recipes from Biblical Times. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1986, page 148.

Hans, Julia B. "Lamps, Scrolls & Goatskin Bottles - A Handbook of Bible Customs for Kids." Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2000, pages 40-41.

CONTRIBUTOR: Julie Burton