2:55
وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ
2:56
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
2:57
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنْـزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَى كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
This to me doesn’t seem like a bad thing. They asked to see Allah manifestly in order to attain belief and were seized with a thunderbolt like experience. This results in a death (mentioned in 2/55) after which Allah brings these people to life. I believe by askint to ‘see’ Allah (i.e. his system, as shown by 7/143 which is then linked to 89/21-22) they were struck and resurrected spiritually. It was only after that 2/57 comes into play and they are given various blessings by Allah.
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