17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: a“I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’
18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its adetestable things and all its abominations from there.
19 Then aI will give them one heart, and I will put ba new spirit within them, and take cthe stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
20athat they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; band they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
21 But asforthose whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, aI will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.
22 So the cherubim alifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.
23 And athe glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood bon the mountain, cwhich is on the east side of the city.
Self-control is the manifestation of God's work in man through the Holy Spirit. Paul elaborated in His teaching on self-control that Christian self-control results from the Holy Spirit's indwelling (Romans 8:1-4). It is the Spirit-controlled mind that is strengthened with power (Ephesians 3:16; 5:18) to control rebellious desires and to resist the allurements of tempting pleasures.
We once said in our carnal ignorance, "I will not have this One to rule over me." We may not have uttered these exact words, but our conduct in breaking God's commandments and being conformed to this world spoke as if we were literally saying them. That has changed to some degree, has it not? If it happened to us, why can it not happen to anybody? It can, but only if God gives the same things to them as He has given to us. To understand and appreciate properly what He has given us, we must recall our lives before conversion and honestly recognize what we lacked compared to what we now have because of God's calling.
This Second Exodus has not happened yet. When it does, the Israelites will be keeping His laws just as we are—in the power of His Spirit—and they will be converted. They will be under the New Covenant.
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