Ezekiel 20:12

12 Furthermore and I gave to them my sabbaths, that it should be a sign betwixt me and them, and that they should know, that I am the Lord hallowing them. (And furthermore I gave them my sabbaths, so that they would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know, that I am the Lord who maketh them holy.)

Ezekiel 20:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:12

Moreover, also, I gave them my sabbaths
The Targum is,

``the days of the sabbaths;''

or sabbath days, the seventh day sabbaths, which recurring throughout the year are many; but, besides these, there were the year of remission, for the seventh year sabbath; and the jubilee year, the great sabbath of all, once in fifty years; yea, Kimchi thinks the feasts, such as the passover are included: now these are distinguished from the statutes and judgments, or the precepts of the law, which were of a moral nature; these being ritual and ceremonial, and were peculiar to the Jews, and continued but for a while; however, they were gifts, and valuable ones, of considerable use and significance: to be a sign between me and them;
of his being their God, and they being his people; of his favour and good will to them, and of the, obligations they were under to him; of his having separated and distinguished them from all other nations of the world; these sabbaths being only given to them as a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, and as a pledge of their entering into the land of rest; and of the future rest to be enjoyed by Christ, and in heaven, to all eternity; for these were shadows of things to come, ( Colossians 2:16 Colossians 2:17 ) ; that they might know that I [am] the Lord that sanctify them;
separate them from other nations, and, by such means and opportunities, begin and carry on the work of sanctification in them; for the sabbaths, and the services of them, were useful to such purposes; as Lord's days, and the work of them, are now.

Ezekiel 20:12 In-Context

10 Therefore I casted them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them out into desert; (And so I brought them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them out into the desert, or into the wilderness;)

11 and I gave to them my commandments, and I showed to them my dooms, which a man shall do, and live in those. (and I gave them my commandments, and I showed them, or I taught them, my laws, which a person shall do, and shall live because of them.)

12 Furthermore and I gave to them my sabbaths, that it should be a sign betwixt me and them, and that they should know, that I am the Lord hallowing them. (And furthermore I gave them my sabbaths, so that they would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know, that I am the Lord who maketh them holy.)

13 And the house of Israel stirred me to wrath in desert; they went not in my commandments, and they casted away my dooms, which a man that doeth, shall live in those; and they defouled greatly my sabbaths. Therefore I said, that I would shed out my strong vengeance on them in desert, and waste them; (And the house of Israel stirred me to anger in the wilderness; they went not in my commandments, and they threw away my laws, which a person who doeth them, shall live in them; and they greatly defiled my sabbaths. And so I said, that I would pour out my strong vengeance upon them in the wilderness, and destroy them;)

14 and I did for my name, lest it were defouled before heathen men, from whom I casted them out in the sight of those. (and I did it for the sake of my name, lest it were defiled before the heathen, from whom I brought them out in their sight.)