Nehemiah 2

And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. v.13


Read chapter 2

Nehemiah snuck out. I used to sneak out when I was a teenager but it definitely wasn't for the things of God. God seemed to be giving Nehemiah the vision of what His plan was going to be and how Nehemiah would be prepared to carry it out. Sometimes we need to make sure we have God's vision on specific things in our life before we jump in unprepared and get others involved. I love the names of the gates. They're so simple and helpful for knowing which gate is what. Was the Refuse Gate really where they brought out all their poop and other refuse? I like to imagine the Serpent Well being where dinosaurs bathed. The English word dinosaur didn't come in to our language till a couple hundred years ago and why we don't see that word in scripture. But we do see dragon and characteristics of dragon descriptions describe what we'd call dinosaurs today. Now it's hard for both evolutionist and creationists to say when they were extinct but according to scripture man was made on the same day as dinosaurs, day 6, so man and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time.

Do you sneak out with Jesus to get a clearer vision of the work He's doing?

What are some metaphorical names in your life that are burned down and need rebuilding?