The Man Abraham

Context is an important part of our study style. Last time we studied Abraham it was in the context of the preceding and subsequent covenants that God made with His people. This time as we study Genesis 11:27 through chapter 15, our context is the Genesis account of creation, the fall, the flood, and the Tower of Babel. When we read God's promise to Abram in Genesis 12:2,

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

we cannot help but notice that it follows God's specific intervention in human history in response to the men who settled in Babylon. Genesis 11:4,

Come, let us build ourselves a city,
with a tower that reaches to the heavens,
so that we may make a name for ourselves.

In subsequent studies we will read that Abraham will become a great 'name'. Genesis 17:5,6,

your name will be Abraham,
for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you very fruitful;
I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

As we read through Genesis we cannot help but notice that in one chapter God intervenes to thwart human name-building, and in the next chapter God intervenes to establish a human 'name'. Perhaps the juxtaposing of these two Divine interventions is intentional? Maybe it provides a lesson or two in the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven?