Archbishop Gregory Holley

From a Page to a Squire

We continue today in our series. Yesterday can be seen in the Category "Training for Warfare in the Kingdom."

At fourteen years of age the young page became a squire. His chief duties were to help his superior into his armor and to keep it polished and repaired. A squire practiced wearing armor to get used to its weight. He became an expert at horsemanship and at using a sword and lance. Grooming the horses, managing the hunting hawks and hounds were his duties of maintenance.

Squire's sports were wrestling, fencing, boxing and swimming. And for the mental mastery were introduced to chess and backgammon.

One of a squire's duties was to stand guard on the walls of the castle. And when a knight rode forth into battle, his squire rode along to serve him, carrying his superior's sword, lance and shield.

Squire's were taught the rules of chivalry - a strict code of ethics which knights obeyed - to be religious, honorable and courteous. Chivalry required that knights be brave, loyal, just, speak only the truth, be fair to their enemies, help people in distress, protect women, and show mercy to the weak and defenseless.

It was as the King of Kings taught the disciples how to become apostles in the famous Sermon on the Mount. Teaching of Kingdom warfare and discipline He guided these fishermen toward greatness by teaching. For three and one half years they listened as they polished and repaired their spiritual armor learning to depend upon it rather than the natural tendencies. Watching the power and discipline of their Messiah alerted them to the coming days when each would be in his own war faced with self.

Standing guard for what they believed in and carrying the Sword of the Spirit, the, the Shield of Faith and the weapons of spiritual warfare these young men followed Christ. Like the young squires training there was the time of miracles which evoked great joy and peace. And then there were the times when the mind was to be mastered as in a great chess or backgammon game.

And then there was the strict code of the Beatitudes by which each should conduct ministry: Spiritual joy. To live without malice.  To weep over our sins. To humble themselves to those who injure them. To love justice. To be merciful. To be sincere and pure of heart. To suffer persecution. These taught to disciples were sure to be called upon in the hour of their test of Apostleship.

As the path of discipleship meanders toward the battlefield each trial, test or endurance struggle is destined to bring confidence in the new believer who struggles as a page or squire in their training for the hour of expose. When war is demanded and training becomes action, then the outcome relies on the diligence that has afforded the trainee.  And our Commander in Chief, sitting at the right hand of the Father, orchestrates the battle for His confidence in the Apostle is now complete. The warrior has appeared in the struggle!

Tomorrow..Into Knighthood...The Consecration..

Son of Nobility...

Shirley Glubok wrote in her study on noble families in Europe during the Middle Ages that the sons were trained for warfare in the kingdoms of their fathers. At the age of seven, boys were sent by their father to live in the castles of other noblemen. There they became knights-in-training called pages. This amazing parallel of the Kingdom we are born into illustrates the responsibility of the sons and daughters of the King to be trained for spiritual warfare. The following blogs result from a look at the time old practice of the training of a knight for warfare in a natural kingdom and how it applies to the training of a soldier of the cross for the supernatural Kingdom. 

Arriving in their new home the young boys learned the manners of a page: to kneel on one knee before the lord of the castle, to stand as still as a stone unless spoken to, and to bow their heads when answering. They were taught to be courteous and helpful to ladies and to live according to the principle of the Christian faith. Pages were also trained to sing, to dance, and play musical instruments.

Our training for the Kingdom needs be like this. 

1)  The elders of the body lead before us as we learn that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  To kneel on the knees is a lost art in the church world yet no one act of submission is regarded in the Holy Word as the act which all the world will be required to do.

2) Like the young knight we are to be still and know He is God.  This training is invaluable as we learn that their is no greater exercise of stability than to stand still and await movement from our superior.

3) And then there was the bowing of the head. Reverence to our God is a lost art awaiting the proud to become humble and in subservience bow the head.

4) Preferring one another in courteous, helpful, Christ-like mannerisms is perfect curriculum for the school of the Kingdom.

5) And who can reject the need to learn the principles of our Christian faith so that we might live accordingly?

6) And then it was time to exercise personal giftings of song, dance and musical instruments.

In becoming a knight the page was trained to ride a horse, wield a sword, manage a shield, and handle a lance. To prefect his aim with a lance he played  tilting at a quintain. The quintain was a target fixed to bar that pivoted on a post. The boy charged at the target with his lance in position. He had to hit the target squarely and move past quickly. If he did not, the bar, which had a sandbag attached would swing around and hit him. The young pages played with marbles and toy knights; they also played ball, walked on stilts and seesawed.

It is believed that training for the kingdom should not be the soft and cloistered lifestyle of a children's playground where no real threat arises. Like the page of the Middle Ages there needs to be taught to our young that we are in a real warfare that must be trained for. It should not be a parlay of a successful future that requires no fixed target that must be hit squarely. Hit and miss tactics must be corrected as incorrect hits result in a backlash of the sandbag that swings fully to hit.

And the part where the pages played marbles and toy knights, ball , walking on stilts and seesawed is important as well. The Bible teaches that there is joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit. Practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit requires  the joy of worship as we enjoy the Gifts of the Spirit.  The clapping of the hands to music, the shaking of hands with brothers and sisters of precious faith, the enjoyment of witnessing a healing or deliverance is the training ground of the Kingdom! Enjoy!

Tomorrow: From a Page to a Squire...

Resource Material for this series from "Knights in Armor" by Shirley Glubok