יחזקאל, פרק כ׳, פסוק ד׳

When the elders of the people approach seeking guidance, their immediate, private concerns are met with a profound divine demand for a sweeping historical reckoning. The primary approach among commentators is that God's demand for judgment does not refer to a standard legal ruling in a courtroom. Instead, it is a directive to argue, rebuke, and firmly put the people in their place [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון ורד״ק]. God instructs the prophet to confront the nation about their wrongdoings and to debate with them, ultimately proving that true justice remains with Him.

How the prophet should approach this task is understood in two complementary ways. One perspective suggests that God is telling the prophet to look past the private, local issues of the elders standing before him and instead force them to face a grand historical accounting [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another view explains that if the prophet wishes to evaluate the people using his own human intellect and understanding of the Torah, rather than relying solely on direct prophecy, he must begin by exposing a long-standing truth: the people have been straying from the right path since the days of their ancestors [מלבי״ם].

At the heart of this confrontation is the command to shift the focus backward and expose the deep roots of the nation's wickedness. The prophet is required to make it clear that their current misdeeds are not a sudden or new development. Rather, they are a direct continuation of the sins committed by their ancestors, which have angered God since ancient times. The present generation is simply adding their own crimes to a long, tragic legacy of rebellion [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].