9. To make to Him

9. To make to Him

The making of the contents of the vow to the Lord was probably the most important subject of discussion between officers and groups of soldiers, as well as soldiers in personal conversations between them for seven days. It was already made public on Sunday 9 December for the first time during the morning service, and just after that confirmed before the countenance of the Lord as a mutual commitment by those 470 men.

Important for our purpose however, is that, when Cilliers on 9 December recited the text for the first time, the men probably had already one-by-one in personal prayer communion with the Lord, committed themselves with respect to every element of the Vow. Hence also the opportunity - and also the admonition - which was offered every time anew to anyone who may have in the meantime changed his opinion and did not want to be part of the commitment, prefering to distance himself from the meeting.

The Vow and the history of the taking of it speak of near shuddering concern with the unbreakable vertical tie. That means the tie to Above, which is brought about by the Vow between the holy God of heaven and earth and those 470 men in a wagon laager surrounded by 20 000 Zulu warriors, and their offspring back at Sooi Laager and elsewhere.

There was probably no other crisis hour in our history, preceded by nearly the same intensity of persevered day and night long individual and joint growing awareness and confession of total dependance on God alone, accompanied by prayer deepening, and followed by ever stronger and surer faith venture for the calling task ahead.
The Vow also speaks with such seriousness, which must be for every upcoming generation also just as shudder wakening of the horizontal bond which tie them and all their physical and spiritual “upcoming generations”, to whom they will presently refer to by name, in reciprocal Vow debt together.