Faith in the Breach

Faith in the breach is when Christian people determine to believe God in spite of all earthly evidence to the contrary.

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It was in the year 1355 that the English army, cornered in France, came to its greatest challenge. Their day ofmighty faith and deeds is an inspiration for our faith now. However, before I relate that battle and its lessons let’s consider the broader issues a little.

It is difficult for us to understand most of these European wars. The entanglements of interests, the vicissitudes of crown rights, and mis-claimed crown rights, are often dizzying. The entire system of nobles, barons, kings, knights and how all these offices interconnect seems like an impossible puzzle. In the case of the battle at Poitiers we question why an English army would be in France in the first place. After all, it seems, if they do not want trouble then why don’t they just stay on their own side of the English Channel?

Hindsight is 20/20

Now, that is easy to say looking back 700 years into a cultural situation we simply do not understand. It might be useful however, to temper our perspective with the reminder that American troops have twice in the past century arrived on European soil to do battle with some of their national powers. The endless rows of white crosses at Flanders and above the beaches at Normandy, testify to our deepest commitment to causes seemingly not our own. They remind us as to how easy it is to entangle ourselves in foreign wars, sometimes rightly, sometimes foolishly. We, traveling 3,000 miles across the Atlantic to do battle, may be wise to reserve judgment on those English who merely crossed a 50 mile channel. So, at the very least we may find it in our souls to believe that our understanding is, likely, narrow-visioned. We may also observe that the Biblical first model for civil government found in the book of Judges, is a form of representative republic, not of monarchy. Monarchy was a second (and prophesied against, 1 Samuel 8) form of civil government only to arrive much later. It proved itself, over the broad centuries, to be an engine of endless intrigue, suspicion, and unending warfare

Against All Odds, the Battle Begins

Returning now, to a hill near a hamlet called Maupertuis, we find the English, with all fervor, preparing to engage the French army. The English, led by the “Black Prince” (due to his signature black armor), brought to the battle less than 8,000 men including 6,000 archers and 2,000 picked men at arms. Opposing them was a vast sea of French and German soldiers outnumbering the English by more than eight to one. The English chose their ground carefully. They occupied a modest hill set in a location advantageous to defend. The slopes were steep and there was only one road coming in. Having these advantages, understand, still gave the English almost no earthly hope of surviving the soon-to-advance ocean of adversaries. Defenses had been prepared but they were not enough. The English army was entirely out of provisions, many having retired the night before on empty stomachs. Against them, prepared to charge, advanced the well rested and fed, cream of France’s fighting elite. Nobles, barons with their retinues, and thousands of well provisioned men at arms began to close the intervening void. There was one thing this massive army did not consider.

That very morning, as the vast array of French troops began moving forward, the Black Prince, surrounded by his knights, reminded them to trust in God saying, “Fair lords, though we be so few against that mighty power of enemies, let us not be dismayed, for strength and victory lie not in multitudes, but in those to whom God give them… I pray you fight well this day, and if it please God and St. George I will also do the part of a good knight.” At that moment, faith in God’s providence was very hard to explain by any human means.

In an astonishing victory, the vastly outnumbered English army routed their French adversaries. At one point a massed troop of 16,000 French soldiers panicked and fled the field without swinging a single sword. Spreading confusion and fear they contributed to a further collapse of the French lines. At the end of the day the hard-pressed English soldiery controlled the field. The defeated French left their dead including, a prince, 13 counts, 66 barons, 11,000 men at arms, and immense numbers of footmen. All of their baggage was captured as were more than 2,000 knights, and their king

Thanksgiving to the Lord of the Battle

The next morning the English army offered up solemn thanksgivings on the field of battle for the obvious hand of God’s providence. Due to the disorder caused by the capture of their king, the French nation went into the terrible Jacquerie. It was a bloody time when rogues roamed the country murdering French nobles wherever they could be found. Though lawless, the Jacquerie helped break the centuries-long bondage of the serfs in France as virtual slaves of the upper classes. Through initial war and defeat came the beginnings of Christian liberty for common men. At another great victory for the English soon following, the Black Prince reminded a victorious noble, “Give thanks and praise to God and not to me, for from Him, and not from me, you have received victory.”

Though the events of history are not always easy to interpret, we can be certain of a few things; one being that God’s sovereign hand directs its progress. Faith in the breach is when Christian people determine to believe God in spite of all earthly evidence to the contrary. When Christ admonished, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and righteousness” He expected us to understand that His kingdom is not simply a pie-in-the-sky kingdom, but rather something to be advanced on this earth. We should expect to see progress in history toward His rule as the Sovereign Lord. When Christ said He had come to set at liberty the captives, we may expect to see that principle gradually being set forth among the people of the earth. This is why when we consider the Christianized nations of the world we see a difference in human liberty as between darkness and light. It is God’s assurance of ultimate victory that inspires Christians to carry on the work of the kingdom.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach, 10-16-13