2. Laager forming

2. Laager forming
There is no person in this country, now and in future, who has no direct interest to ascertain himself anew and continuously of the terms of the Vow’s calling, noted from the history of 16 December 1838...none the least we who call us People of the Vow. Our seriousness with those terms and their implications determine the “Vow strong stand” of the “Small Boer People in this wide land” and with that the future of everybody in South Africa is involved.

Every evening the Punish Commando made sure that they will not be surprised unexpectantly overnight: early in the evening they outspanned on the right place selected by the scouts, let graze the animals, formed the laager, thoroughly bound the wagons together by ox thongs, placed all round the battle gates between the wagons and the wheels, closed all openings with thorn branches, checked and put in place guns and ammunition, mounted the cannon, named Grietjie, brought the animals in at sunset, fastened the whip sticks with lighted lanterns fixed to their ends high above the wagon tents, posted guards, closed the laager gate, enjoyed in between supper prepared by the day’s cooking teams, kept the evening divine worship, repeated the Vow, went into the night, man by man on his post, as if with the finger on the trigger and sleeping with one eye open.

That is faith: you take every precaution to the smallest particulars and infallible thoroughness, as if the result depends solely thereon. Thoroughness was indeed the outstanding characteristic of Andries Pretorius’s leadership throughout the campaign. Then you submit yourself, your undertaking and ultimately your, in any way, poor preparations, together with the result of the whole “exercise”without reserve in the hand of the Lord, knowing and confessing that all depends solely on Him.

You would not ever be so presumptuous to leave it to the Lord to drag your thorn branches, fasten your wagon wheels with ox thongs, go to rest peacefully in such a wide open, enclosed laager, labeling your attitude as being a mighty faith! It would be blatant temptation of the Lord, as what the devil incited Christ on the temple’s roof.

On the one hand the careful preparations for the night (including their prayers) in forming the laager every night is about their part of the deal in the wonder of God’s salvation, but also on the other hand their offering themselves “for total encircling, for ultimate merciless and total obliteration”. They have nowhere to flee, should things go wrong for them. Thus, putting themselves totally in God’s hands. In contrast, the Zulus have the whole world around them to flee.