Jeremiah 1:9-10. “Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”

My emphasis would be on the concluding part of verse 10. It says; I have set you over nations referring to Jeremiah and to you also if you wish to personalize this, Scripture. Let me put my emphasis this way; ‘I have set you over the nations to build.’ So, out of the many things the Lord set and ordained Jeremiah for which include; to root out, pull down, destroy, throw down, build and plant, I would be sticking with build.  I am sure you are wondering why we have to start with this Scripture, since we are talking about vision and how it applies to leadership. I would implore you to read patiently, the Holy Spirit is helping me to build a background into this subject matter, and I believe you will be greatly blessed. I will return to this spiritual ordination and commissioning Jeremiah had in the Scripture we read above.

In the book of John 2:18-19, it says; “The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” I want us to note that word authority. The Jews came to Jesus asking Him, what sign can you show us to prove that you are a man of authority? And the response was simple; destroy this temple and I will raise it up again in three days. The contemporary English version puts it this way; "Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!" So, the word ‘raise it up’ was replaced with ‘build it up’. A time were a lot of leaders or political office holders seek reelection, and politicians aspire and give reasons as to why they should be elected into the most prestigious office of the nation.

 In order to be sure of who can be trusted enough to win the votes of its citizens, it is therefore important that we study and consider this concept. How do we know that you are the right person fit for the job? That was the kind of question they asked Jesus? How do we know that you are the Son of God? How do we know that you are what you claim to be? How will Nigerians know that you have received the mandate to become the president, governor, chairman of that nation or organization? The sign of this authority, this mandate, this qualification is rooted in the ability and capacity of the leader to confidently say; I could rebuild this nation. A leader who this quality is not evident in his manifesto is not the kind of leader Nigeria need at this time.

This qualification is so important that prophet Jeremiah needed a divine enablement and commissioning to be able to accomplish this task. How much is the matter of rebuilding the nation a burning matter in our heart as leaders? The Bible recorded Nehemiah was sorrowful and his countenance fell because of the situation his nation and he made a request to go and rebuild what had been destroyed. Are there leaders who carry this mandate and burden or they just want the position of leadership for the glamor and benefits attached to it.

 What does it mean to rebuild? To rebuild means to build something, an object, a house, an organization, a nation, a family, a marriage again after it has been damaged or destroyed, wrecked, ruined, or damaged either by earthquake, a wind, an enemy or bad leadership. Rebuild is a word used to describe a process initiated to raise, repair or correct a process that once existed but had deviated from the original pattern. So, for a rebuilding process to take place, the service of a builder is required. Can we find the qualities of a rebuilder or a builder among those aspiring to lead these nations?

So, why is the service of a rebuilder required? It is required because there is a phenomenon or an occurrence called or termed as damage, wreckage or destruction as a result of the activity of a thief, an enemy or a destroyer. This process is called rehabilitation, renovation or resuscitation. Have we identified what the nation needs as such a time as this? So, for example, if a strong wind blows off your roof or a part of your house falls down due to a wind or flood what is expected of you is that you employ the services of either a carpenter or a brick layer. And their primary responsibility is to restore what has been blown off or what has been broken or damaged. From the two Scripture we read above, there is a mandate, a calling or an ordination required to embark on this task or assignment.

Just as we could do that with our physical building there are also spiritual carpenters or crafts men who are saddled with the responsibility to restore what has been stolen, broken or destroyed. Hence the services of a builder is not required until there is an experience of deviation from the norm resulting into an experience that is different from the norm. So, instead of admiring prosperous nations that have been built over the years, it is important that we vote a builder who can get the nation of Nigeria to a point where it can become the joy of nations, where it can become the envy of nations.

Zachariah 1:18 says; “Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. ¹⁹ And I said unto the angel that talked with me, what be these? And he answered me, these are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” I want us to note what these horns did; they scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. These are three spiritual locations of any nation as far as the issue of prosperity, governance and economic development is concerned. You may want to ask why was Judah, Israel and Jerusalem mentioned simultaneously? Is Judah and Jerusalem not part of Israel? Why didn’t the Bible just mention Israel and leaving the others out? What does Judah signify? A tribe, kingship, identity, authority or we would even say purpose. Israel is a chosen nation and Jerusalem the capital city symbolizing the seat of power.

This is a pointer to what the horn sets to achieve in any organization, nation, community or tribe. It is simply to displace and unseat. It is said that everything rises and falls on leadership. So, if any nation is not been built, if any nation is underdeveloped, the problem is that the horn is targeted towards the leadership, the identity and the people/nation of God. So, these horns come for the capital city, they target the seat of power and if they can achieve that aim then they would have brought the chosen nation to ruin. The Bible says the thief comes not but to steal, kill and destroy. So, this horn comes like a thief with the aim to achieve the following objective which is to steal, kill and destroy.

Then the subsequent verse says; “And the Lord shewed me four carpenters.” See what these carpenters or builders are coming to do; “Then said I, what come these to do? And he spake, saying, these are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.” So, the nation of Nigeria should rejoice because carpenters are coming, they will repair the old waste places and rebuild the old foundations which lay waste for several generations.

A similar experience was recorded in Nehemiah 1:3, It says; “And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” I want us to note that this word; “and its gate burnt with fire.”, again we could see the target; the wall and the gate. Their problem is not Jerusalem but its walls and its gate. Now we are not ignorant of what had happened or who was responsible for this outcome. A few experiences outlined in this verse we must take not of; and these experiences were about a people, a particular territory, generation, community, nation or even organization. It says they are in great distress and reproach because the walls are broken and its gate burned with fire.

For a people to have such an experience, it means something, someone or a group of people are responsible for these atrocities and from the previous Scripture, we read it made us to understand that the horns were responsible for this. A similar situation was what we saw in Genesis 1 verse 2; it says “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” Another similar example is what we will see in Isaiah 42:22; It says, “But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” So, another word for a rebuilder is a restorer. All the resources in the reserve that has been drained, will be restored. These Scriptures points to us something very interesting. It says no one says restore. That still points to the fact there was no carpenter or repairer. So, for the process of restoration to become a possibility, there is the need for one to arise and say restore.

This is the reason why war-torn nations, city and communities, organizations that has been damaged by previous leadership does not just need any kind of leader, what we should watch out for is a leader who is a repairer. At such a time as this in our nation where so many things have been destroyed and have gone out of course, should we just vote leaders that continue to say the same thing or have the same agenda? We need a repairer. Haven established this background; how does the restorer or repairer begin the process of restoration? In order to know how, it is important to know how God began to rebuild the earth. 

HOW RESTORATION PROCESS BEGINS

Bible says in Genesis 1 verse 3, “Then God said let there be light and there was light.” Remember the focus of this article is to really build an understanding into how light is a necessity for leadership. And we were able to establish that for you to rebuild a nation you must be a builder and every builder requires authority and mandate. So, going back to this Scripture; Remember the situation of the earth before the introduction of light. The Bible says in Genesis 1 verse 2, the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.” Meaning that the situation of the earth and its inhabitants was not different from the situation of what we have seen in the few Scriptures we had read earlier. If the earth was in such a state and God took on the responsibility to restore and rebuild the earth, that makes Him a builder and restorer. And the primary material He used was light.

The first word God spoke and every builder must speak should be “let there be light”. What is light? It means two things; number one it talks about acceptance and salvation. This light on one hand was the introduction of Christ and the acceptance of Christ. Jesus is the light of the world. Until a nation is ready and willing to embrace Him- the light, it has not yet found the path to transformation, prosperity and restoration. Number two; Light is the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. The implication of this on leadership is that until the leader who carries light, talking about vision is accepted it has not found the path for development.

So, rebuilding process does not begin in the absence of light. I have been privileged to see construction companies work during the day and also in the night. But working in the night will never be possible in the absence of light. Now imagine a scenario were there is total darkness, there is no day, there is no night. The earth was completely covered with darkness. That necessitated the creation of light. When God said let there be light, what was His intention? What was He set to achieve?

The primary aim for the creation of light is to make sight a possibility. It doesn’t matter if you have eyes, if there is darkness the eyes are as good as useless. So, the light makes sight possible, it is also called vision. That is why leaders who deserve to be followed are leaders with vision because their destination is not the dich or the pit, they always have a destination in view. So, the first quality for leadership and for rebuilding a nation is the capacity to see. Dalai Lama once said in order to carry a positive action we must develop a positive vision.

So, positive vision is the first criteria required by any leader to rebuild or restore any nation to its former glory. Vison is not only the ability to see, it is also the ability or capacity of a leader or builder to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
If you have begun following this rebuilding series; the first episode talked about the fact that rebuilding is not possible outside of words and speech. And here we could see that God spoke something. And what He spoke was a command for light to appear. It is the same thing as saying I want to see. So, the first statement God made was to call out light of darkness. Vision is a very important factor in leadership. The Bible says in proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no ^[d]revelation, the people cast off restraint” When a nation is no longer moving forward or casting off restraints, they have simply lost their sight. This is the reason why every citizen, every Nigerian must be sure to know if the leader they want to vote has a vision for this great nation. Other wise nothing will happen to the situation of Nigeria. The question is; how many leaders, politicians have a vision for this country? It is only those who have the vision for restoration that would usher the nation into that experience.

Why did God have to say let there be light before He began the work of creation, before He began to rebuild the earth?  What is the implication of this? It means that whatever is hidden becomes visible, it helps the builder to place things appropriately, it helps the leader to have focus and to be sure of where he is leading the nation to. What was God trying to achieve when He said let there be light. He simply wanted to see the real situation of things-the truth. And this baffles me. The way God sees and the way man sees is completely different. See how the book of Genesis described the earth; it says and the earth was void and empty and darkness was over the face of the deep.

Now this is how a builder sees and perceive things. He sees the earth from the light of positivity. Let’s take Nigeria for example. A builder does not see Nigeria to be a failed state, corrupt or lacks security and basic amenities like water and electricity including good and accessible roads, He simply sees the truth about Nigeria. Now this is confusing; does it mean that Nigeria is secured? Does it mean that Nigeria is not corrupt? Does it mean that Nigeria does not lack basic infrastructure and social amenities? Of course, this is the truth about Nigeria. But there is a way a visionary leader sees. God said let there be light, I want to see the truth about the situation of Nigeria, I want to see the possibility and positivity of Nigeria. And this is why Vison is so powerful. Builders usually don’t see walls that are broken down, they see walls that are coming up, builders don’t see the roof that the wind has blown away, they see a house that is covered. They simply bring solutions. This is the mind set of God and one of His finest qualities we must learn.

See what God said concerning a land just as we saw in Genesis :3. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; it means the land was forsaken and desolate. It said; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;  (Isaiah 62:4) He doesn’t say this nation is finished, wasted and broken beyond repair He simply began to call the land the name that He wants to see. How many leaders today prophesy to the dead sectors of our economy? That was why God began to call things that be not and they appeared as though they were. The reason is because there need to be appearance of the things that was missing that made the land, nation or community the way it is. He said let there be light; the introduction of light is the first step to rebuilding process.

Destroyers walk in darkness and perpetuate or afflict their prey in darkness. So, light comes to reveal. God didn’t just speak light into being, He also placed the light at a strategic position knowing that destroyers, thief and spiritual horns walk or thrive in darkness. So, while the light came into existence, the Bible says God saw that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And I want us to note that word; He divided the light from the darkness. Then verse 5 says God called the light day and darkness He called night. I want us to note that again. He first of all divided the light from the darkness, and then He gave a name to the light and He called it day and the darkness He called night. What does this mean? What is a day?

A day is the time of light between one night and the next. I am tempted to wonder, what if the time of light does not cease? Does it mean that the day will continue without the night coming? Then I quickly remembered what Genesis 1 verse 14 says; it said let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night. And there is a reason for that. Then Genesis 8 verse 22 speaking to the fact that day and night shall not cease, including seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer. This means that all these factors are determined by light. How did I know that? God said in the latter part of Genesis 1 verse 14, He said they will be signs to mark off the seasons, the days and the years. (NIV) So, if light could play an important role as the work of creation was going on, what makes leaders think that they can do without light?

Now when you read verse 14 of Genesis 1, it looks as if it was a repetition of what was said in verse 4 and 5. It says then God said let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night. Haven separated day and night why does He have to say let there be lights in the firmaments of the heaven? What this means is that while there is a light that rules the day, there is also a light that rules the night. While there is a provision for us to see the ordinary, there is also a provision for us to see the extra ordinary.

How a Nation is Sustained by Light

While it won’t be possible for the eyes of the leader to be across all the states of the federation, appointees, must carry the same light, carry the same vision as the leader does. They must see as the leader sees. If what the visionary leader has built will stand the test of time, what has been built must be sustained by those who are also visionary. Because this is the problem; When the leader has a vision and His cabinet members lack vision, the rebuilding process will be forestalled or frustrated. So, Jesus gave a solution to this problem. He said I am the light He that follows me will not stumble in darkness. I am the vision, if this rebuilding process will be possible, come and buy into my vision, the vision of the leader.

So, even though God separated the lights, there is still a light that governs the night. This is the spiritual Light-Christ, required for every man to see. The Bible says the light shines in the darkness and darkness could not comprehend it. While there could be light for men to see during the day, light is also needed by men who are watchers. And this is the focus of this article; So, while the night has a light that rules it, the day also has a light that rules it. The Bible says let them give light to the earth. There is a light that governs the night. This is the kind of light required by watch men.

Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

Any nation that jokes with security light is joking with the prosperity and safety of its nation. There is a reason why the watch men stay awake. It is so that they can protect what has already been built. If they stay awake without a light their staying awake is useless. If you are building and there is no security to watch what is been built, it is only a matter of time; when the light of the day goes down and the light of the night doesn’t come up, what has been built during the day will be destroyed by those who walk in darkness. This is how nations are built and sustained by light. If you have a vision as a leader, if there is no system put in place to guard that vision rebuilding and repair would be a difficult task to accomplish.

So, light is very important for the development of any nation. No nation, family, or organization can be built in darkness, light is foundational to the building of a prosperous organization. This light could be physical it could be spiritual. How does the industry function smoothly in the absence of light/vision? How will the economy of any nation run smoothly without the supply of light/vision? Recently I heard in a news in Nigeria an air plane belonging to air-peace on a flight from Lagos to Anambra state, as it approached the airport the run way was dark, it couldn’t land, it had to return back to Lagos with the passengers. What a waste of time and resources. So, social and economic activities cannot thrive in the absence of light. God recognizing that in other to restore the earth the possibility won’t be a reality if darkness prevails, so He said let there be light and when light came, He separated it, while one is relevant during the day, the other is relevant during the night. Both are prepared for sight but geared towards a goal; ‘the prosperity of the nation.’  Vision and security are components of the light required to build a nation and this is what you have been authorized and commissioned to do.  

Why did I say this? See what Nehemiah 4:6-9 says; So, we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. ^7.But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. ^8. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. ⁹. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Did we see that? Haven built by the vision received from the tower, a guard must posted in the day and in the night to guard and to protect what has been built.

Thanks for the gift of your time, Apeh Francis Abah!
Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond as soon as possible!