John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 20:4

"Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;" — Ezekiel 20:4 (ASV)

The context flows very well if we accept this interpretation: that God swears that the Israelites did not come with the intention of being subject to His prophet and of modestly submitting to his instructions. If this interpretation is agreeable, it is fittingly added, shall you judge them? That is, will you spend your breath arguing with them?

He means that they are to be dismissed rather than instructed, as Christ says, You shall not cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). And we know what God pronounces: My Spirit shall not always strive with man, because he is flesh (Genesis 6:3). He now means that there was no need for any dispute, since there was no basis for continuing it. So, in this passage, since the Prophet was dealing with men completely hardened, who never listened to wise counsel, nor obeyed any admonitions, nor were softened by any chastisement, he therefore adds, shall you judge them? Some, indeed, coldly and blandly explain this as taking away the role of a judge, since God desires them to be called to repentance rather than to be condemned.

But here judging encompasses all reproaches and threats. On the whole, since they acted deceitfully and had no intention of submitting to God, hence he uses this bitterness: What! Are they worthy of your judging them? That is, of your contending with them? For the prophet’s duty is to argue with sinners, to threaten them, and to summon them to God’s tribunal.

God, therefore, pronounces them unworthy of such disputation, because they are not only deaf but also hardened by utter obstinacy. Now, therefore, we understand the meaning of the words, will you judge them? will you judge them? The repetition is emphatic, so that God may strongly express the obstinacy of that incorrigible people.

He afterwards adds, If this is to be done, then show them the abominations of their fathers. God here mitigates the harshness he had used and, by way of a correction, offers a reason for it: namely, that he may try for once whether or not they are curable. If, then, they are to be judged—that is, if he chooses to enter into any dispute and to argue with them—he says that he should begin not with them, but with their fathers.

God wishes them to be judged not only on account of the wickedness of a few years, but because even before they were born, their fathers were obstinately attached to their abominations. In short, God shows that the wound was deep and could not be cured unless the hidden poison was carefully examined, which otherwise would cause putrid matter, from which inflammation would eventually arise.

For many think that they have properly discharged their duty when they have only lightly probed their wounds. But sometimes it is necessary to penetrate to the innermost parts, as the people had not only provoked God lightly and for a short time, but their impiety had been growing for ages, and their sins had become a kind of inheritance to them. Since, then, this hidden poison existed, which could not be cured either easily or by any slight remedy, God therefore orders them to begin with their fathers: Show them, therefore, the abominations of their fathers.