"The Magi's Camels"

Bible Skills and Games Workshop Lesson

from the Rotation.org Writing Team

Lesson Summary

Students play through three games—each one teaching a different aspect of the story's content and meaning.

1. Magi from the East (Map Game)
2. Arise and Improv You Magi (Isaiah 60:1-6)
3. The Magi's Camel Race (Matt 2:1-12)

Of course, Matthew doesn't mention camels!  But the easily imagined camels in this story remind us of the unsung servants of God around us who take up the burden and joy of bringing others and their gifts to Jesus. That's the fun life application of this workshop in the rotation.

For those using the Rotation Model:  This particular workshop in the rotation includes Isaiah 60's famous Advent words "Arise and Shine... come bearing gold and incense " which undoubtedly shaped Matthew's Magi story and helps focus us on the importance of arising and shining ourselves. The "Bible skills" in this Bible Skills and Games Workshop are the "map work" in Station 1 and Station 2's focus on Isaiah 60. 

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12 
The story of the Magi

An excerpt from Isaiah 60:1-6 used in Game Station 2
“Arise and shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn…
and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.”

Supplies and Advanced Preparation for the Stations

• Read the Bible Background and Lesson Objectives for this lesson set.
• Decide on how you will "play" through the stations. See the options described in the lesson plan below.

Setup for Game 1:  Magi from the East Map Game

• Print the main map,  the map key, and map insights.
• Enlarge the main map at an office supply store by bringing them the graphic file, or you can DRAW a large version of the map on butcher paper.
• Using the location names printed on the bottom of the Main Map, create a stack of 3x5 cards for students to draw as they take their turn finding those key locations on the map. 

Props for Game 2:  Arise and Improv You Magi!  

• A blanket
• stuffed animals
• A flashlight
• Gold
• Incense
• Misc props and objects

Props for Game 3:  The Magi's Camel Race

• Bibles
• stopwatch (or use your watch or an app on your phone)
• a pillow, belt, and rope
• a bag with 3 Christmas wrapped presents inside it
• Herod's crown and robe
• 2 Magi Robes and 1 Adviser's Robe
• 3 chairs, a table, and another pillow
• yellow paper
• scissors
• painter's masking tape for start and finish lines

Lesson Plan

Reminder: Each game is an opportunity for the teacher to share bits of background information and reflect on the meaning for us today. 

Opening

Welcome your students and explain how today's lesson will unfold. Have students help you complete the setup of each game as you walk them through what to do in the games.

Game 1:  Magi from the East Map Game

Activity: Map Game

Objective: Learn the names and places of key locations on a map of the Middle East.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2 ("Magi from the east came to Jerusalem")

Station Options: Depending on the size of your class and your desire, you can do the map activity as a competition between teams (as the gameplay is detailed below) or as a guided exercise where individual students are asked to place key location labels on the map.

Setup: Print a large version of the attached Bible map or draw it on a large sheet of paper. We have erased key named locations from it. Also, print the "key" map to remind you where the correct answers go. Copy the location names found on the bottom of the map and turn them into 3x5 cards which students can draw to take turns trying to correctly locate a key location on the map. Finally, print the Location Insights PDF for things to share about each location.

Game Play:  Split into two or three teams of at least two players each. Review all map key location cards together, then place them face down on the table and mix them up. One by one, individuals from a team will draw a key location card. After reading it out loud, the individual must POINT to a location on the map where they think that location is. Put the card back in the deck so that other players might draw it again (repetition = remembering!) Make up the rules, give hints, and adjust points to suit the student's knowledge level and help them succeed. Award points to teams for:

• 5 points if they can correctly place it in two tries all by themselves.
• 3 points if they need to "phone a teammate" for help. 
• 1 point if they want a hint from the teacher.
• After placing the label, award additional points to each student who can tell you something else they know about the label/location. 

When you have played enough, the teacher then points to the locations on the map for everyone to shout out. Write them onto the map. (If students have their own map handout, they can add the names to their own.)  See the "Map Location Notes" document attached to this lesson to share a few insights as you play.

Additional story info to emphasize:

1. We don't know for sure where in the "East" the Magi were from. Most Bible scholars believe they traveled from "Mesopotamia"—Babylon/Persia. See the Bible Background's discussion of the term "Magi" for ideas to share about their origins. 
2. Throughout the Bible, God brings "foreigners" into the story and often blesses them with a special purpose or blessing. Abraham and Sarah came from Haran (can you find it on the map?). King David's grandmother Ruth was from Moab (can you find Moab?). Elijah performed a miracle for The Widow of Zarephath (who lived near Sidon).  Hebrews 13:2 says, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."  John 1:4 reminds us Jesus' "life was the light of all mankind."
3. Their journey undoubtedly took place over trade routes and may have taken weeks. It is possible that they walked, but more likely they rode camels or horses and were accompanied by others. The Bible does not say how many Magi arrived. 
4. Most of the people "in the East" were not Jews or Christians, and that is still true today. What message did God send by sending the guiding star to non-Jews and non-Christians to seek and give gifts to the Jewish Messiah?

 Game 2: Arise and Improv You Magi!   (Optional)

Activity:  Teams will compete by preparing and acting out Isaiah 60 using props and silent acting as the teacher (or a classmate) reads aloud the very visual text from Isaiah 60:1-6. 

Objective: Students will learn and understand that the meaning of the Magi's story and gifts is grounded in the larger hope for a new kind of King, a Messiah foretold hundreds of years earlier by Isaiah. They will see how the details of Isaiah's Psalm of Hope helped shape and explain what would otherwise be an odd story about "visitors from the east."

Scripture:  Isaiah 60:1-6

List of props they have available to grab and interact with:

• A blanket
• Stuffed animals
• A flashlight
• Gold
• Incense (try perfume poured over shreds of paper towel so that it is aromatic)
• Misc props and objects that don't necessarily relate to the story

Game Play: Pile all the props on a table. The teacher calls a team to the table and tells them that the teacher will SLOWLY read Isaiah 60:1-6 without stopping, and as they do, the team has to grab props and/or act out the verses with their hands and body. The teacher does not stop for them to decide what to do, they have to figure it out very quickly (improvisation).  Play two rounds (slow and fast). Awards points to teams for:

Round 1 Slow Speed:  10 points for the best improv. Fewer points for "less best."

Round 2 Fast Speed:  10 points for the best improv. Fewer points for "less best."

Here's the full and very visual text of Isaiah 60:1-6

Something to share with students between the rounds or after...

Isaiah 60:1-6  Psalm of Hope

Let me tell you about what was happening in the city of Jerusalem when Isaiah first wrote these words of hope. Isaiah was a prophet in Israel during very dark period in Israel's history. In the 8th Century B.C., the Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem, cut off their food and water, and would soon crush it. That's when God sent a message of hope through Isaiah to his people. He told them not to lose heart, that one day a light would arise in Jerusalem that all the nations would come to worship. It would be a new dawn. And what was one of those signs?  Visitors coming with gifts and proclaiming God's praise.

It is easy to see the similarities between Isaiah's descriptions about visitors, light, and gifts and Matthew's story of the Magi. (How many did you notice??) Matthew very much wanted people to see that Jesus was the one promised by the Old Testament, ...that he would be the Light of the World. In Isaiah 9, the famous Christmastime passage, we read that God's light would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (How many of you have heard that??)  John begins his Gospel by describing Jesus as the "light of the world." 

Question: Isaiah tells us to , “Arise and shine, for your light has come."  In what ways do you "shine" to alert others that Jesus, the newborn king God promised us, is here and ready to be worshiped?

Game 3: The Magi's Camel Race

Activity: Camel Race re-enacting the story. This is a timed race.

Objective: Remember the parts of the story and key dialog.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Props:

• Bibles
• stopwatch (or use your watch or an app on your phone)
• a pillow, belt, and rope
• a bag with 3 Christmas wrapped presents inside it
• Herod's crown and robe
• 2 Magi Robes and 1 Adviser's Robe
• 3 chairs, a table, and another pillow
• yellow paper
• scissors
• painter's masking tape for start and finish lines

Setup:  Arrange the "Four Story Stations" around the room and create a start/finish line. Prior to playing, demonstrate "safe" camel riding. Demonstrate how to "saddle the camel" and what must be done at each "story location" around the room.    OR set up the "obstacles" and props for each station with your students–explaining what they have to do at each station.  *You will need Bibles at each station.*

OVERVIEW OF THE CAMEL RACE STATIONS

1. Starting Line:  Saddling up the camel.
2. Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-2)
3. King Herod's Palace (Matthew 2: 3-8)
4. Jesus' House (Matthew 2:9-12)

Game Play:  This is a "timed" race, not a head to head competition because we want the students to enjoy seeing each team race. Teams of three take turns completing the course. At each station, there is something to do and say. You may place obstacles in the way. Some are suggested in the Station Notes below.  The team that completes all the stations the fastest and with the fewest mistakes wins.

• The teacher goes to each station shouting instructions for the Magi, Camel Leader, and Camel to follow.
• If time, play it again to improve speed (and retention).
• See the fun "camel costume" option at the end of the lesson for an alternate option to having a student be ridden.
  
  

Camel Teaching Points (before the game begins):

There are no camels in Matthew's Magi story, but Isaiah 60:6 does describe "herds of camels covering the land" as a sign blessing. Coming from "the east," it's very likely that the Magi traveled by camel caravans which were the "trains" of their day --a true blessing to those traveling great distances. Without them, the Magi might never have been able to seek Jesus or return home to tell others about what they had found.

STATION 1: THE STARTING LINE

Do: On "go" the team must "saddle up" one of their players to be the CAMEL. The saddle consists of a pillow strapped to the back of the player using a belt or rope. The RIDER must put on a Magi Robe and then straddle the camel—keeping their feet on the ground (so as not to hurt the camel). A third teammate also dressed in a Robe acts as the Camel Leader—leading the camel by a rope (loosely) tied to the camel's wrist (so as not to strangle). The Camel Leader carries a bag with three gifts in it.

Once they have their robes on, rope tied, camel saddled and straddled, they can go to the Jerusalem Station. If the RIDER "falls off" the camel, the camel must stop for them to get back on.

STATION 2:  JERUSALEM  (Matthew 2:1-2)

Obstacle:  Place a table guarding Jerusalem like a gate that the Magi, Camel, and Camel Leader must go under. The Magi Rider must stay on the camel's back as they go through/under the gate. If they fall off, they must back up and try again. Place sheet of yellow paper on the table and a pair of scissors to make a star.

Do:  After getting through (under) the gate, the Magi must dismount and READ Matthew 2:1-2 (Bible) aloud, while the teammate leading the camel makes a STAR out of paper. This star must be carried by the teammate leading the camel the rest of the journey. It must make it to the finish line.

As soon as they've read the passage and made the star, they must get back on the camel, go out under the gate and go to the Herod's Palace station.

STATION 3: KING HEROD'S PALACE  (Matthew 2: 3-8)

There's a pillow on a table to act as a throne. Next to it is a Herod robe and crown, and an "Adviser's robe" in front of the throne. The Magi and Camel Leader will switch into these costumes.

Obstacle: When they get to the station, one of the Magi must quickly take off their Magi robe and put on the King Herod robe and crown and sit on pillow throne. The other must put on the "Adviser's Robe."  After reading the verses, the Magi must put their Magi robes back on before going to the next station.

Do:  Herod reads verses 3-5, Adviser reads verse 6, Herod reads verse 7-8 (Bibles).

As soon as they are done, they must switch back into their Magi and Camel Leader robes, and proceed to Station 4—but do so crawling flat on their tummies (everyone, including the camel).

STATION 4: JESUS' HOUSE (Matthew 2:9-12)

Obstacle-Do:  The Magi, the Camel Leader, and the Camel must crawl "prostrate" (flat on their tummies) from Station 3 to Station 4...all the way "into" Jesus' house where they find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (three volunteers from the other teams) sitting in chairs. 

As they crawl, they must read verses 9-12 IN UNISON (Bibles) while staying flat on their tummies. When they get to the chair, they offer their gifts from their bag, then get back up on the Camel and race to the Finish Line a few feet away.  (*Note: Matthew's Greek words in verse 11, "bow down and worship" actually mean, "fall down on your face and prostrate yourself." It's an attitude of humility you'll want to share with the kids.)

Camel Teaching Points (after the game is over):

True or False:  Just like the camels who helped the Magi find and give their gifts to Jesus, people in the church can be like camels, too.

If you answered "true" then explain how can people be like the Magi's camels in our church?   (Unsung, they do the work of bringing others to worship, to learn, to serve. )

Follow up Questions:

1. Who are some of the "camels" in our church? and what do they do that makes them like a "camel" in the story of the Magi?
2. How can you be like a camel in our class?
3. How can you be like a camel in helping to bring others to find Jesus?
   
   

Closing Prayer

Review some of today's key points and comments. Close with a prayer that we would all be better camels–ready to help others seek and find Jesus.

Adaptations

For younger children:  Eliminate the Station 1 Map Game. Read the scripture for them and have them act it out as you read it in Station 3.

For short class times:  Eliminate Stations 1 or 2, or both if needed.

Camel Costume Option: Oriental Trading Co sells a fun camel costume for $17. Buy one or two for Game 3's Camel Race. 

Written by the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright 2018, Rotation.org Inc.