After the Israelites had been away from Egypt quite a long time, they
came into a dry, stony country called the Wilderness, where there were
no springs of water and no rivers. They got very thirsty, but could find
nothing anywhere to drink. This made them angry with their leader, Moses,
so angry that they were going to stone him to death. But Moses asked God
to help him, saying: “What shall I do unto this people? they be almost
ready to stone me.” God told him to take his rod and strike a certain
rock on Mount Horeb. Moses did so. At once a clear stream of water burst
out of the rock, enough for all the people.
[Illustration: STRIKING THE ROCK.]