If We Are Like most people, we have some wonderful role models in our families. We may also have some real scoundrels and a lot of people who are pretty ordinary. So, although some members of our families have more impact on us than others, such as our parents, we can pick and choose whose example we want to follow.
We can tell by reading His word that God recognizes the impact of families. The Bible abounds with examples of people, like Timothy, whose families had a positive impact on their spiritual development (II Tim. 1:2-5). We can also think of people, like Ahaziah the son of Ahab, who were influenced for evil by their families (I Kgs. 22:51-53). Of course, for every biblical example of where a man or woman walked in the ways of his or her parent, we can think of a person, such as Manassah, who rejected the path of his parents (II Kgs. 21:2).
Thus it is ultimately up to the individual to decide whether or not he or she will obey God. So Yahweh gave the command that, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deut. 24:16).
A similar situation prevails in ecclesial life. Our ecclesias can influence us for good. When Esther was called upon to risk her life for her people, the Jews of Shushan supported her by praying and fasting for three days (Est. 4:15-17). On the other hand, our ecclesias can pressure us to do the wrong thing. This happened to Aaron when the ecclesia in the wilderness pressured him to make a golden calf (Exo. 32:22-24). In the end, however, the choices that we make are our own. And if we are in a faithful ecclesia, but we are not pleasing to God, He will take note, and we will be judged. If we are in an ecclesia that has gone astray, God will take note, and our faithfulness will be rewarded. For example, although Jesus reckoned the ecclesia in Sardis to be spiritually dead, he found a few of their number to be worthy and promised that they would walk with him in white (Rev. 3:4).
If we are wise, we will look around at our immediate families and ecclesias, and we will be exhorted by what we see. We will follow in the footsteps of those around us who do right, and we will reject the example of those who do wrong. This is the policy that a Benjamite named Ulam followed and for which he was rewarded.
The Benjamites had one of the most checkered histories of Israel’s tribes. Benjamin was one of his father’s favorites and he enjoyed his brothers’ affection. He entered Egypt with ten descendants, a substantial portion of the total number journeying down there (Gen. 46:21). Nevertheless, Benjamin’s descendants did not increase as much as some of the other tribes. At the time of the Exodus, the tribe of Benjamin had 35,400 men of full age (Num. 1: 36-37). That number had only increased to 45,600 by the time the sum of all Israel was taken in the plains of Moab (Num. 26: 41).
Nevertheless some notable figures emerged from the tribe of Benjamin. Ehud the son of Gera was a left-handed Benjamite who delivered the children of Israel from the Moabites during the time of the Judges (Jdg. 3: 15).
Indeed, the little tribe of Benjamin produced its share of fierce fighters. In three days of fighting during the time of the Judges, the Benjamites slew over 40,000 men from an alliance of the other tribes who had gathered together to fight them. Outstanding among the Benjamite warriors was a group of 700 left-handed clingers. Unfortunately, the Benjamites fought in defense of the wicked men of Gibeah, and God delivered them into the hands of the other tribes, who smote them so that only 600 men remained of the entire tribe (Jdg. 20:47).
Saul was shocked when Samuel anointed him to be king over the tribes. He said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?” (I Sam. 9:21). The Benjamites regained prominence during Saul’s reign as Saul surrounded himself with men of his own tribe and elevated them in his kingdom (I Sam. 22:7).
Saul and his advisors were weak leaders who were guided more by their own short-term interests than by the will of God. Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, who succeeded his father as king of the northern ten tribes, was also a weak leader who disregarded the will of God.
Of course, another of Saul’s sons was one of the Old Testament’s greatest men of faith, Jonathan. We know of his godly character. Consider David’s lamentation of him:
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions (II Sam. 1:22-23).
David mentions Jonathan’s skill as an archer in his lament. Indeed, Jonathan was so well known as a gifted archer that David issued an order that the children of Judah learn to fight with the bow and arrow as a memorial to him (II Sam. 1:18).
Thus the Benjamites, and in particular the house of Saul, had a mixed history as far as their service to God was concerned. Ulam was born into this tribe, and he had to make the same choice we must all make Do I follow in the footsteps of those around me who follow God, or do I wander in the way of those who lack understanding?
If Ulam’s genealogy is any indication of his life, he made the right choices. His name appears among the descendants of the house of Saul in I Chronicles 8. Most of the other men in that genealogy are not distinguished in any way. Only their names are given. Ulam, however, is a notable exception:
And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons ‘sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin (1 Chron. 8:40).
Minor details in Bible records are important. Ulam’s sons and grandsons were archers. He taught them to be proficient in the use of the bow and arrow. He taught them the weapon of Jonathan. He could have taught them the use of the slingshot. But that was the weapon of those who had rebelled against God and the other tribes and who had fallen because of their wickedness.
Is this making too much of a little detail? Is it too much to assume that just because Ulam taught his sons and his grandsons to fight as Jonathan did that he also taught them to live and worship as Jonathan did? Perhaps.
There is, however, another indicator that Ulam made the right choices in life and was blessed by Yahweh for so doing. The Scriptures record that Ulam had a great many descendants, and children are, of course, “an heritage of the LORD” (Psa. 127:3-5). Earlier generations of Benjamites had turned from God, and their numbers had decreased. Ulam appears to have done right and increased mightily, just as his faithful forefather Benjamin had done.
Ulam had choices to make. There were members of his family who had done right and those who had done wrong. There were also members of his tribe, perhaps we could say his “ecclesia,” who had done right and others who had done wrong. Ulam seems to have looked around and made his decisions wisely.
The same kinds of decisions face us today. Let us not be afraid to make the right choices. And let us remember that we have an advantage that Ulam did not have — we have the Lord Jesus Christ to look to (Heb. 12: 1 — 2). Let us then look to his example and live.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One