Ezekiel 20:17

Ezekiel 20:17 says, Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.  God said that by His mercy He did not destroy the people of Israel in the wilderness.  He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, and they immediately turned away from living in obedience to Him, so He would have been justified in slaying them.  God has already saved everyone from the penalty of sin, but if we do not accept His gift of salvation when we first hear about it, He would be justified in just allowing us to die forever separated from Him, but by His mercy, He will continue to call us to salvation.  Of course, as with the people of Israel in that day, He may declare that some people are never going to be obedient to Him and just look to the next generation for those who would be a part of His kingdom.   

Verse eighteen adds, But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:  God said that He told the children of these disobedient people to not walk in the statutes of their fathers, who were worshipping false gods and denying God.  Even if our parents are worshipping false gods, God is still going to call us to salvation.   

Verse nineteen continues, I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;  God told these children to keep His statutes and to be obedient to Him.  Though keeping God’s law will not save us, we need to keep them once we have accepted God’s gift of salvation.   

Verse nineteen concludes, And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.  They were to keep God’s sabbaths holy as a sign of their being in a covenant relationship with Him.  Keeping the sabbath, or the Lord’s Day as we celebrate today, holy should be a sign to the people of the world that we are in a covenant relationship with God.  This does not save us, but it is a sign of our obedience to God.