Why did Ezekiel say that God gave laws to the people that were not good? Ezekiel 20:23-25


  23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; 24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. 25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;


Here we have God, speaking through Ezekiel, saying that he had given the people bad statutes (or laws in some translations) whereby they should not live (or by which they die, again depending on translation).

The only thing that I can figure is that Ezekiel, being from the priestly class, would have been more in favor of the stricter laws given Leviticus. He thought the laws given in Deuteronomy (like only having to sacrifice in the temple once a year, akin to Christians going to Church once a year) were leading the people to death. However, even given the interpretation, it is still a bit disturbing that we have God saying that he purposely gave the people bad laws that they could not live by. You get the picture of pious Jews, trying to live righteously, following the law, only they have been tricked by God himself.

What is going on here? I am not able to understand or interpret this scripture.
Ezekiel 20:25 is not referring to any laws which God had decreed, but the laws which the people had made on their own.  Since the people would not follow God's laws, he left them to their own laws.  For instance, the NLT says "I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life."

The laws he is referring to here are the ones from verse 18.


  Ezekiel 20:18 NIV
  18 I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the
  statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with
  their idols."