TWO SETS OF ORDINANCES (LAWS)
Buried in the book of Ezekiel (a prophetic book of judgement) is a verse that explains why the Bible is so difficult to understand:
Ezekiel 20:25: “I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live;
Needless to say, this is a surprising thing for God to do and then to admit that he had done it. When we read this we logically wonder why a kind and loving God would intentionally mislead his people to follow statutes and ordinances (i.e. laws) that would not be life-giving. It seems so unlike God and so unfair that he would do such a thing.
When we look closely at the context of Ezekiel 20:25, however, we see that God had good reasons for giving his people laws by which they could not live. These reasons are found in Ezekiel 20:1-32.
1 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you.”‘
COMMENTARY: See God’s Written Word and God’s Spoken Voice for understanding of why God would not teach his people. In particular, see Ezekiel 14:1-11.
4 “Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make them know the abominations of their fathers; 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God, 6 on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 7 “I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’
COMMENTARY: This has meaning only when we consider that God often told his people here that they should not follow the religious customs of other nations.
See God is Calling People Out of Religion and Egypt and Babylon, for more about coming out of Egypt
See Gods at War, Religion is Idolatry, Religion is the Enemy, Cities, and Kingdoms and Nations
We conclude from this that Israel had adopted the religious practices of the Egyptians during its stay there and that it had revised those practices after entering the promised land. This is confirmed by the following facts:
The lesson we learn from this history is that God’s people, including modern Jews and Christians, are prone to practice idolatry.
8 “But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 “So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
COMMENTARY: We see here that rebellion is equated with failure to listen to God’s voice. When we combine this truth a parallel truth which is that failure to listen to God’s voice is equated with breaking his covenant, we see that listening to God’s voice is the key feature of being in covenant relationship with God.
is the reason for God’s judgment. We must be careful to acknowledge, however, that because Israel’s history is our history Therefore we are also in rebellion because, like Israel, we prefer to listen to the voice of religious leaders instead of God’s Voice. Listening to the voices of these religious leaders is the marker of Old/First Covenant religion.
11 “I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live.
COMMENTARY: In contrast to verse 25, we see here that God has given life-giving ordinances (i.e. laws) to his people. They were spoken by God to Moses who recited them to Israel. These laws are the primary markers of the New Covenant.
12 “Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 13 “But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.
COMMENTARY: See Sabbath, Fasting and Rest for more about sabbaths.
14 “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 “Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, 16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols.
COMMENTARY: The ordinances that Israel rejected were those that God spoke to Israel from Mt. Sinai. They rejected listening to God’s voice in favor of listening to the instruction of their idols (i.e. False Prophets, Pharisees, Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Shepherds and Wolves.)
The lesson here is that anyone who listens to the instruction of a false prophet effectively listens to an idol. See God’s Written Word and God’s Voice. See Ezekiel 14:1-11.
17 “Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness. 18 “I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.
COMMENTARY: Just as Gold told people in the wilderness that they should not follow the religion (i.e. statutes and ordinances) of their fathers, we in these modern times should also not follow the religions of our ancestors.
19 ‘I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. 20 ‘Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
COMMENTARY: Instead of following the religion of our ancestors, God reminds us here that we should listen to his voice and cease from all of our religious works (i.e. observe the Third Commandment).
21 “But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 “But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 “Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, 24 because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.
COMMENTARY: God’s children, then and now, rebel against God when they receive instruction from false prophets instead of listening to his voice as provided in the New Covenant.
25 “I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live;
COMMENTARY: Here is the subject verse that explains how Israel, including Jews and Christians in every generation, could stray into rebellion. The reason is that in addition to speaking to Israel from Mt. Sinai, God also gave written commandments, charges, precepts, statutes, ordinances and other Laws through Moses and other prophets in the Old and New Testaments. These were all stumbling blocks, however, because both religions fell into temptation to create religion out of the literal prescriptions and proscriptions of all these commands. As long as they were so intently engaged in these Old/First Covenant activities, they were as good as dead because they did not experience the kind of life that only comes by hearing and obeying the spoken voice of God.
26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD .”‘ 27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by acting treacherously against Me. 28 “When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 “Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.”‘ 30 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? 31 “When you offer your gifts, when you cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 “What comes into your mind will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, serving wood and stone.’
COMMENTARY: See Tearing Down Idols and High Places and Religion is Deception for more about ritual worship.