Tens and Hundreds (6) - Upside Down

Samuel warned of another serious consequence of the transition to kingship.

Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties (1 Sam 8:12).

The King will appoint some of the young people who have been conscripted into his service to be commanders over thousands and fifties. This was a radical change. Under the previous system, the leader of a Hundred was appointed by the members of the Ten who joined the Hundred. The leader of a Thousand was appointed by the leaders of the Hundreds, who agreed to participate in it during the season when it had a role. These leaders would have already established trust within their Ten and Hundred.

Membership of a hundred and a thousand was voluntary, so if the Tens did not like the decisions of a commander of their thousand, they could withdraw. In this structure, leadership emerged from the bottom and submission to leadership was voluntary.

This is the way that leadership functions in the Kingdom of God. Leaders are given authority by people who voluntarily submit to them. If this authority is abused, voluntary submission can be withdrawn and the authority will evaporate.

The emergence of kingship turned this model on its head. Instead of leaders emerging from within, they would be appointed from outside by the king. The members of a Fifty or Thousand had to submit to the King’s appointee, even if he was made foolish decisions, as refusal to obey would bring down the wrath of the king. Submission ceased to be voluntary.

The king would tend to appoint younger people who had recently been in his service, because they would be more loyal to him. Even if these leaders were foolish an inexperienced in battle, the army was forced to obey them.

Authority imposed from above fosters foolishness.

Membership of a Thousand had been temporary. When the threatening army was defeated, the Thousand would be disbanded and the people would return to their homes (Jos 22:6). The only social structures with a permanent function were the Tens and Hundreds, and participation in them was voluntary.

Under the kingship, the Thousand ceased to be a temporary and voluntary force that was called up to deal with a particular, external threat. They become a permanent method tool of imposing the king’s control over society. The members of Tens lost their freedom of action and came under the permanent control of the king. An authority that arose from the bottom of society through submission was replaced by control from the top.