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a reputation

1 Kings 4:20-34 (JDV)

1 Kings 4:20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.
1 Kings 4:21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt. They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
1 Kings 4:22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal,
1 Kings 4:23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,
1 Kings 4:24 for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders.
1 Kings 4:25 Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba, each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.
1 Kings 4:26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
1 Kings 4:27 Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing.
1 Kings 4:28 Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses to the required place according to his assignment.
1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore.
1 Kings 4:30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
1 Kings 4:31 He was wiser than anyone– wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.
1 Kings 4:32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.
1 Kings 4:33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
1 Kings 4:34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king in the land who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

a reputation

Solomon drew people to himself by his reputation. This would give him an opportunity to showcase God’s grace. A reputation itself may not be a good thing. But using that reputation to lead people to God can be.