The relationship between human choice and divine instruction takes a tragic turn when rebellion distorts reality. Instead of serving as a source of life and blessing, laws and rules can become instruments of destruction and doom.
One way to understand these harsh laws is as a national and external punishment. In this view, they are not God's commandments at all, but rather brutal decrees imposed by foreign nations. Because the people rejected God's good laws, He handed them over to their enemies. These foreign powers enforced heavy taxes, forced labor, and lethal decrees that led directly to death rather than life, particularly during the era of the Temple's destruction [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].
Alternatively, this consequence can be seen as an internal, spiritual punishment. God withdrew His guidance and left the people to the mercy of their own destructive desires. Left to their own devices, the people established flawed customs and harmful rules for themselves. Through their own distorted free will, they stumbled and were brought down by their own sins [רש״י, אברבנאל].
A third perspective suggests that the laws in question are actually the instructions of the Torah themselves, but their practical effect has fundamentally changed. God's commandments were designed to sustain life, yet they carry a dual nature: they act as a blessing for those who do good, but become a curse for those who do evil. When the people act wickedly and abandon their loyalty to God, these very same commandments turn into a source of ruin. The laws simply cannot bring life to those who corrupt and violate them [אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
This distortion of reality ran so deep that the people eventually began to view God's laws as inherently bad. They reached a state of mind where they believed it was impossible to build a functioning society or run a state while keeping these commandments [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, these difficult laws may specifically refer to the severe curses and warnings found in the Book of Leviticus. The Torah itself refers to these punishments as laws and rules, which God gave to the people as a direct consequence for breaking their covenant with Him [אברבנאל].