Moses sought to see God, and this is the instruction he receives on how he is to see Him: seeing God means following Him wherever He might lead.
* Anyone who does not know the way cannot travel safely without following a guide. The guide shows him the way by walking ahead of him, and the one following will not get off the right path if he keeps constantly watching the back of the guide.
On the other hand, if he moves off to one side, or tries to bring himself face to face with his guide, he will be setting out on a different path from the one which his guide is showing him. Thus the Lord says to those who are being guided: You shall not see My face, or, in other words: Do not face your guide. For then you will be going in a completely opposite direction."
St. Gregory of Nyssa
* By contrast, how much we wince and complain, like spoiled brats, at the inconvenience of a fasting day or season, or the temporary loss of electrical power, and other inconveniences that quite normally and regularly come into our lives.
The “inconvenience” and “annoyance” of Moses’ long years of exile in the desolate desert were used by him for purification, first of his sins, then of his passions, so that, in this terrible crucible of heat and suffering, he could be made ready to have his astonishing encounter with the Living God.
Fr Ambrose Young
