יחזקאל, פרק כ׳, פסוק ל״ו

A profound historical parallel connects the ancestors who experienced the Exodus with their descendants who face a similar divine reckoning. God establishes a direct comparison between the historical trial of the generation that left Egypt and the future judgment awaiting the current generation [רד״ק]. This divine judgment is not a swift, unspoken decree. Rather, it is an active, ongoing process of conducting a trial, presenting arguments, and engaging in a thorough dispute.

Just as God argued with and judged the ancestors of the nation in the wilderness immediately adjacent to Egypt following their departure [מצודת דוד], He intends to subject the present generation to the exact same scrutiny. While the nature of the trial remains identical, this future reckoning will take place in a new setting, identified as the wilderness of the nations [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].