3 And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,
Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth?
And he said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses kept his face covered for fear of looking on God.
And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of meeting, and came out and gave the people a blessing, and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord, burning up the offering on the altar and the fat: and when all the people saw it, they gave a loud cry, falling down on their faces.
Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people.
Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?
And he said, No; but I have come as captain of the armies of the Lord. Then Joshua, falling down with his face to the earth in worship, said, What has my lord to say to his servant?
And when the flame went up to heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar, while Manoah and his wife were looking on; and they went down on their faces to the earth.
Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.
Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.
So he came and took his place near where I was; and when he came, I was full of fear and went down on my face: but he said to me, Let it be clear to you, O son of man; for the vision has to do with the time of the end. Now while he was talking to me, I went into a deep sleep with my face to the earth: but touching me, he put me on my feet where I had been.
But the sound of his words came to my ears, and on hearing his voice I went into a deep sleep with my face to the earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 17
Commentary on Genesis 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
This chapter contains articles of agreement covenanted and concluded upon between the great Jehovah, the Father of mercies, on the one part, and pious Abram, the father of the faithful, on the other part. Abram is therefore called "the friend of God,' not only because he was the man of his counsel, but because he was the man of his covenant; both these secrets were with him. Mention was made of this covenant (ch. 15:18), but here it is particularly drawn up, and put into the form of a covenant, that Abram might have strong consolation. Here are,
Gen 17:1-3
Here is,
Gen 17:4-6
The promise here is introduced with solemnity: "As for me,' says the great God, "behold, behold and admire it, behold and be assured of it, my covenant is with thee;' as before (v. 2), I will make my covenant. Note, The covenant of grace is a covenant of God's own making; this he glories in (as for me), and so may we. Now here,
Gen 17:7-14
Here is,
Gen 17:15-22
Here is,
Gen 17:23-27
We have here Abraham's obedience to the law of circumcision. He himself and all his family were circumcised, so receiving the token of the covenant and distinguishing themselves from other families, that had no part nor lot in the matter.