Nehemiah 2:13
And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
Nehemiah reached Jerusalem in safety under the guard of the Persian king's power, carrying royal letters to the governors of the provinces along his route that secured for him honorable reception, prompt assistance, and marked consideration from the provincial rulers so that no enemy dared molest him. His arrival with a military escort showing he had come on an important mission excited the jealousy of the heathen tribes living near the city who had often indulged enmity against the Jews by injury and insult, foremost Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, who from the first watched his movements with critical eyes and endeavored by every means to thwart his plans and hinder his work. The account of his appeal to the king and the king's favorable response shows that God's people may ask those in power for help in advancing God's work.
The inspection was secret and took place on the third night after arrival in Jerusalem, when he rose at midnight with a few trusted companions to view the desolation for himself. Mounted on his mule he passed from one part of the city to another surveying the broken-down walls and gates. He took with him only a few men whom he knew to be worthy of confidence, telling them the circumstances that had led him to come to Jerusalem, the object he wished to accomplish, and the plans he proposed to follow, and thereby at once enlisting their interest and securing their assistance for viewing the city.
Going out by night, he inspected Jerusalem's defenses and saw that the walls were broken down and the gates destroyed by fire, confirming how exposed and ruined the city remained. As he gazed with sorrow-stricken heart upon the ruined defenses of his beloved Jerusalem, the city of his fathers, painful reflections filled his mind as memories of Israel's past greatness stood in sharp contrast with the evidences of her humiliation. He completed his midnight circuit in secrecy and silence, telling the people nothing and telling no rulers, Jews, priests, nobles, or workers where he went or what he did.
Viewing the broken walls by night was an act of caution and prudence, concealing the nature of his mission because bitter and determined enemies stood ready to oppose him. He kept his purpose hidden until study of the situation enabled him to form his plans, hoping to secure the cooperation of the people and set them at work before the opposition of his enemies was aroused. His careful, private preparation included keeping his purpose even from his countrymen, because careless disclosure could stir the enemies' jealousy and defeat the work. After the circuit he spent the remainder of the night in prayer, because the morning would call for earnest effort to arouse and unite his dispirited and divided countrymen.
Seeing the city's weakness and degradation for himself gave him accurate and minute knowledge of its condition that astonished his hearers the next morning and put earnestness and power into his call to rebuild. That firsthand knowledge won the confidence, sympathy, and united heart-and-hand action of the people rather than depending on his royal commission and authority. As with Jerusalem's ruins, people in the church can grow used to existing evils and fail to remedy them, while a divinely illuminated view exposes the church's spiritual ruin.