The Lord also gave them statutes that were not good for them in the sense that He allowed them to choose to live by worldly rules that caused them misery and death (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28:15 to Deuteronomy 29:19; 2 Kings 17:26-41). He also gave them ordinances that were too difficult for them to keep in that He did not lighten the burden of responsibility that the Mosaic Law imposed. When the people offered their children as burnt offerings to the idols, the loss of their children was God"s punishment for this sin (cf. Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3; Romans 1:24; Romans 1:26; Romans 1:28). He had commanded that they offer their first-born to Him or redeem those children ( Exodus 13:12; Exodus 22:29; Numbers 18:15-19), but He had not told them to offer their children to Him as burnt offerings. Ezekiel seems to have been countering the people"s claim that because God had commanded them to dedicate their first-born to Him, He was authorizing child sacrifice. Ezekiel 20:25 may reflect a statement of the people that Ezekiel quoted and than rebutted in Ezekiel 20:26. [1][source]
"A sacrifice as understood by Israel"s pagan neighbors was a way of giving desirable things to the gods.... How about really impressing a god with your dedication and sincerity by sending that god something more precious to you than anything else-your own firstborn child? Thinking themselves likely to gain the lifetime favor of the gods in this way, the Israelites borrowed child sacrifice, too, from their neighbors and began killing their firstborn infants and burning them on altars as a means of sending them to the false gods they were worshiping. It is evident that such people really wanted the gods to love them and were willing to "give their all" to gain such love." [2][source]