Moisés didn’t argue. He wept, but then he stood tall. The next morning, he called Joshua forward. “You will lead them,” he said. “My journey ends at the mountain. But I will see the land from afar.”

Once again, the people gathered against Moisés. “Why did you bring us here to die? Our children are thirsty!” they shouted.

The Hebrew people had wandered for decades. They had seen the Red Sea part, manna fall from heaven, and water burst from a rock. But now, in the desert of Zin, the last water source had dried up.

Moisés and Aarón fell before the Tabernacle. God spoke: “Take the staff. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will pour out water.”