I read a great article on this specific verse. Here it is and maybe this will help explain it better than I could.
Ezekiel 20:25 is a verse that jumps off the page as a false statement: Then I gave them laws that are not good and commands that do not bring life (Ezekiel 20:25). How is it possible that God could ever give laws that are not good and commands that do not bring life?
First, lets backtrack to the beginning of this chapter to understand the context. Ezekiel writes from captivity in Babylon. It is a discouraging time and the leaders seek to understand Gods will:
Mortal man, he said, speak to these leaders and tell them that the Sovereign LORD is saying: You have come to ask my will, have you? As surely as I am the living God, I will not let you ask me anything. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken. Are you ready to pass sentence on them, mortal man? Then do so. Remind them of the disgusting things their ancestors did (Ezekiel 20:3-4).
It seems like God is saying, You leaders want to understand my will? What do you think Ezekiel? Isnt it obvious that what has happened up to this point is not my will? God then went on to contrast his will in the history of Israel with the rebellious human response. First, beginning in Egypt:
Gods will in Egypt: It was then that I promised to take them out of Egypt and lead them to a land I had chosen for them, a rich and fertile land, the finest land of all. I told them to throw away the disgusting idols they loved and not to make themselves unclean with the false gods of Egypt, because I am the LORD their God.
The rebellious human response: But they defied me and refused to listen. They did not throw away their disgusting idols or give up the Egyptian gods. I was ready to let them feel the full force of my anger there in Egypt (Ezekiel 20:6-8).
This passage suggests that even prior to leaving Egypt the people were wrapped up in idolatry and the worship of the Egyptian gods. We have previously discussed Gods anger as his letting go and allowing his children to suffer the consequences of their rebellious choice. As we read on, we see that Gods will was to stick with his people and to bring them out of Egypt, even in their rebellion against him, in order to protect his reputation in the world:
Gods will in the desert: But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name, for in the presence of the people among whom they were living I had announced to Israel that I was going to lead them out of Egypt. And so I led them out of Egypt into the desert. I gave them my commands and taught them my laws, which bring life to anyone who obeys them... (Ezekiel 20:9-11).
The rebellious human response: But even in the desertthey defied me. They broke my laws and rejected my commands, which bring life to anyone who obeys them (Ezekiel 10:13)
The people grumbled and complained on the way to Mount Sinai. They distrusted God and wanted to return to Egypt. They also rejected the authority of Moses and believed the message of the spies that they were too weak to enter the Promised Land. But once again, as the passage continues, we see that God did not give up. His reputation (name or character) was on the line and so he stuck with them. The best option available was to allow them to wander 40 years in the desert as the older generation died off leaving the young people (except for Caleb and Joshua) to enter the Promised Land:
Gods will: I was ready to let them feel the force of my anger there in the desert and to destroy them. But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name among the nations which had seen me lead Israel out of Egypt. So I made a vow in the desert that I would not take them to the land I had given them, a rich and fertile land, the finest land of all. I made the vow because they had rejected my commands, broken my laws, and profaned the Sabbath---they preferred to worship their idols. But then I took pity on them. I decided not to kill them there in the desert. Instead, I warned the young people among them: Do not keep the laws your ancestors made; do not follow their customs or defile yourselves with their idols. I am the LORD your God. Obey my laws and my commands. Make the Sabbath a holy day, so that it will be a sign of the covenant we made, and will remind you that I am the LORD your God (Ezekiel 20:13-20).
But the generation that entered the Promised Land rebelled as well (this is getting repetitious!):
The rebellious human response: But that generationalso defied me. They broke my laws and did not keep my commands, which bring life to anyone who obeys them. They profaned the Sabbath. I was ready to let them feel the force of my anger there in the desert and to kill them all.
Gods will: But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name among the nations which had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt. So I made another vow in the desert. I vowed that I would scatter them all over the world. (Ezekiel 20:21-23)
This "vow in the desert" refers to the predicted exile where God on many occasions warned that they would be taken captive into other lands:
The LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve gods made of wood and stone, gods that neither you nor your ancestors have ever worshiped before Deuteronomy 28:64 (See also Deut 4:27 and Lev 26:33).
A fair question to ask is whether or not the captivities to other nations was really Gods will? Of course not, but yet this was really Gods only option under the circumstances. A parent, for example, will sometimes do everything possible to protect her child from suffering the consequences of foolish choices, but at some point there is little else that can be done but to allow the child to experience the pain that the parent desperately tried to prevent. The experienced pain of captivity was a form of discipline that God hoped would lead his people back home. I will abandon my people until they have suffered enough for their sins and come looking for me. Perhaps in their suffering they will try to find me (Hosea 5:15).
Ezekiel 25 describes the leaders as asking for Gods will. What God is saying to them is this: Listen to the story of my will for you throughout this entire period of time! My will has been that you would be my people and that I would be your God, yet you have rejected me at every possible turn and now here you are in Babylonian captivity and you ask for my will? My will is that you were never here in the first place!
Finally, after all this description of the back and forth from Egypt to the Promised Land we come back to the unusual verse: Then I gave them laws that are not good and commands that do not bring life (Ezekiel 20:25-26). My understanding is that this verse, in the context of the story that God is telling, describes the desperate measures God used to keep his people from collapsing entirely. Lets consider a few examples of these bad rules:
Eye for an Eye
the punishment is to be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot (Deuteronomy 19:21).
Eye for an eye is a bad rule, but yet it was needed at a time when justice called for escalating violence. Vengeance was the form of justice in that time: You insult me, I strike you; you knock over my fence, I burn your field down, and so on. Eye for an eye was a way of limiting the violence in that time, but it was far away from the idea.
Gandhi was right when he said that an eye for an eye makes the world blind but yet it was a necessary first step during a violent time as God gradually led his people toward a better ideal. The ideal is seen in Jesus who dramatically did away with the old form of justice: You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too (Matthew 5:38-39).
Before Jesus command for turning the other cheek, the cities of refuge were given as another gradual step in the right direction. If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety (Deuteronomy 19:1-4). This is an improvement over eye for an eye in that protection was now provided for the person who accidently killed another.
The road from escalating vengeance to turning the other cheek was a long one and involved some bad rules along the way (eye for an eye, cities of refuge, etc). When understood in this light, we see the God of the Old Testament as supremely patient, waiting for the day when he could unfold the truth with greater clarity. God could have merely said from the onset, I forbid the practice of private vengeance. If a man accidently kills another man while chopping wood, his blood may not be avenged by his family. In his wisdom though, God realized that this would have been too much, too fast, and he would have lost the connection with his people entirely and so he gave in to rules that were less than the ideal.
Slavery
Time and again the bible reveals God meeting people where they are with rules and teachings that seem quite bizarre by todays standards. We need to be careful as we read the bible not to see these rules as eternal truths or else we might join Jefferson Davis who used the bible to defend slavery: [Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God...it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation...it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts.
Its true that there are commands for how to treat slaves in the bible, but this does not mean that slavery is the ideal. For example, commands were given to let slaves go free after the sixth year of service (Exodus 21:2). Once again, this was an improvement on the old system in which the slave would never be set free.
Even in the New Testament, Paul would give advice that slaves should
obey your human masters with fear and trembling
(Ephesians 6:5) but yet at the same time he tried to move this entire system closer to the ideal: Masters, be fair and just in the way you treat your slaves. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1). Ultimately, Paul would remind both slave and master that, There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
If slavery was not Gods plan, why not abolish it? Once again, too much, too fast:
It was not the apostles work to overturn arbitrarily or suddenly the established order of society. To attempt this would be to prevent the success of the gospel. But he taught principles which struck at the very foundation of slavery and which, if carried into effect, would surely undermine the whole system.(Acts of the Apostles, pg. 459)
