The reputation gained by individuals or groups of people as a result of their achievements. Scripture shows how God's fame among the nations rested upon his saving actions and, in the NT, how the miracles of Jesus Christ brought him widespread fame. God's people are to rejoice in his fame, without lapsing into arrogance.
God's acts of salvation have brought him renown
Joshua 9:9–10 See also Exodus 8:9–11; Numbers 14:13–16; Psalm 72:1–19, Psalm 135:13–14; Isaiah 55:13, Isaiah 63:11–14; Jeremiah 32:20; Habakkuk 3:2
“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan— Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
Jesus Christ's teaching and miracles brought him fame
Matthew 4:24 See also Matthew 8:32–34 parallels Mark 5:14–17, Luke 8:34–37; Matthew 9:27–31; Mark 1:27–28 parallel Luke 4:36–37
News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.
Jesus Christ taught servanthood rather than the pursuit of status and fame
Mark 9:33–35 parallels Matthew 18:1–4, Luke 9:46–48Mark 10:42–45 parallel Matthew 20:25–28
Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Israel's fame dependent on her obedience to God
Deuteronomy 26:18–19 See also Deuteronomy 2:24–25
And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments, that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.
Israel made famous in order to glorify God
Jeremiah 13:11 See also Jeremiah 33:9
For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.
Israel's abuse of her fame led to judgment
Ezekiel 16:14–15 See also Ezekiel 16:35–42
Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD. But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
Glorious restoration promised by God
Hosea 14:7 See also Isaiah 61:1–4
They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
Local, national or international fame
Local
From Ephraim: 20,800 mighty men of valor, famous among their own clans.
National
Joshua 6:27 See also Esther 9:4
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
International
1 Chronicles 14:17 See also 1 Kings 4:31, 1 Kings 10:1 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:1; 2 Chronicles 26:8; Isaiah 45:1–7
And David’s fame went out into every land, and the LORD caused all nations to fear him.
God's judgment on the arrogance that may come with fame
Isaiah 23:8–9 See also Jeremiah 48:16–18, Jeremiah 48:29–30; Ezekiel 26:15–18
Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
Famous for doing wrong
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.