God Provides Water from a Rock

"Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God." Deut. 6:16

A desert is full of rocks and sand, prickly plants and no water. Do you remember the story of Ishmael and how thirsty he was in the desert? God heard him crying for water and sent an angel to lead his mother to a well.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were traveling through this wilderness. Mount Sinai stood up in the midst and all around them were rocks of red and black marble, all dry and parched under the hot sun. The Israelites were hot and thirsty, but they didn't pray as Ishmael had. Instead, they grew angry and said, "Is God with us or not?"

They tempted God by complaining. God could have punished them for complaining, but God showed mercy to them and pitied them. He told Moses to take his staff and go to a nearby rock. When Moses struck the rock God made a spring of water flow from it. All the people and their animals had enough to drink. 

God performed this great wonder and was very kind to provide for them, even though they were complaining. God was close to them and was with them all the time. They could have prayed instead of complaining. 

Don't be like the Israelites. When something hard happens, don't complain about it, but pray and God will help you. Either the problem will go away or you will better be able to handle it.

QUESTIONS

1. Where had the Israelites come from?

2. Who was leading them ?

3. What kind of place did they get into ?

4. What is a desert like ?

5. What was the mountain in the middle of the desert ?

6. What can't be found in the desert ?

7. Who was the boy that was thirsty there before ?

8. What did Ishmael do when he was thirsty ?

9. But what did the Israelites do ?

10. What did they say ?

11. What should they have done instead?

12. Did God punish them?

14. What did Moses strike?

15. What came out of the rock?

16. Who made the water come out of the rock ?

17. Wasn't it good of God to give them water?

19. What should you do when a thing is hard ?