Tens and Hundreds (1) - Social Cohesion

A number of modern trends have undermined the social cohesion of society.

• Increased nationalism
• Growing government power
• Expanding individualism
• Weakened families
• Urbanisation

Christians have focussed considerable energy on strengthening families, while being ambivalent about nationalism and government powers. Unfortunately, they have missed the piece in the middle. In the biblical model for a healthy society, the “tens, fifties and hundreds” are the glue that holds society together.

So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as heads of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials (Deut 1:15).

In this passage, Moses was setting aside men to be judges. These tens, hundreds and fifties and tens already existed among the tribes of Israel at the time of the Exodus. Tens, fifties and hundreds existed before Israel became a nation. They were important to the cohesion of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The full series can be found at Tens and Hundreds.