Madam – December 16 is a day for all Christians to commemorate.
December 16 is an annual public holiday in South Africa. Today it is called Reconciliation Day. Up until 1994 it had the title of Day of the Covenant. Originally it had the name Dingaan’s Day.
Covenant refers to the Voortrekkers making a desperate plea to their Heavenly Father to help them in battle. Here follows the wording of the vow:
“We stand here before the Holy God of heaven and earth, to make a vow to Him that, if He will protect us and give our enemy into our hand, we shall keep this day of thanksgiving like a Sabbath, and we shall erect a house to his honour wherever it should please Him, and that we will also tell our children that they should share in that with us, in memory for future generations. For the honour of His Name will be glorified by giving Him the recognition and the honour for the victory.”
What occurred on this date in 1838 on the banks of the Ncome River (not far from Newcastle) was, essentially, a standoff between the Zulus and the Voortrekkers.
Reading the history preceding this event is very intricate, interesting and insightful and I strongly recommend that you research it.
The Voortrekkers were outnumbered. They were a travel-weary group of 664 people, consisting of farmers, women, children and servants. The Zulu army that besieged them are estimated between 12 000 and 20 000 male warriors.
The result of the battle is chronicled as “A Decisive Voortrekker Victory.” An excess of 3 000 Zulu troops were slain, while the Voortrekkers suffered not a single casualty.
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Oddswise, could the outcome of this battle have been due to superior military strategy by a small band of frontier farmers in possession of two cannons that were cumbersome to reload?
Remember that the Zulus were also in possession of rifles which they acquired by means of trade and plundering raids. Keep in mind that the Zulu impis were incredibly well- trained and skilled at warfare and fighting on familiar terrain.
Even when the Voortrekkers dispatched small groups of mounted men from their laager formation to face their formidable foe in close combat, not a single Voortrekker died.
These are historical facts.
By means of this monumental battle, a very clear message transcends: The God towards whom the Voortrekkers directed their desperate plea, is a living and almighty God, who hears the cries of his children and is willing and capable to help them.
It also teaches us a bit of the “bigger picture”. The Voortrekkers left the Cape, thus spearheading into the unknown areas of the north of the colony and opening up Southern Africa. Their hardships and sacrifice, their resilience and resourcefulness, are truly awe inspiring.
Wikipedia lists among the “Reasons for the Great Trek” that “The Colony was perceived as no place for a Christian to live.” Similarly, the forefathers of some of these pioneers had risked great peril to escape France.
In 1685 King Louis XIV had instated the Edict of Fontainebleau and ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches as well as the closing of Protestant schools.
Protestants who refused to convert to the Catholic faith were severely persecuted, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Protestants to seek refuge in, among other places, the Cape Colony, effectively bringing with them the Christian religion.
This same religion was borne by the Voortrekkers with unwavering conviction into the southern parts of a continent where the gospel had not yet reached, and paganism was practised by the local people.
Do you see the bigger picture?
Today, Christianity is deeply rooted in Southern Africa and fervently practised by all races. “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the world, so that all the nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
From aforementioned information, it can be deduced that it was a divine design that brought the Gospel to Africa, using settlers whot were being persecuted for their faith in God as instruments to spread His Word.
God loved the people of Africa, and it was his plan that they should receive His salvation by learning about Jesus.
“When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to Him.” Ecclesiastes 4.
Therefore, December 16 is a joyous celebration of hope, not dividing Africans, but uniting Christians as we praise the Almighty God because of his love for us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
R. Erfmann
