Jeremiah 39: It finally happens

In Chapter 38, Jeremiah is thrown into a cistern by people who hate him for what he is saying, then rescued by the King. King Zedekiah again hears all of Jeremiah's prophecies, but he ignores them and swears Jeremiah to secrecy about their conversation. The king then keeps Jeremiah safe but imprisoned in his courtyard, and that is where Jeremiah is when the events he has been prophesying finally come about.

King Z was governed by fear. He was afraid to obey Jeremiah because of the possibility of being handed over to the Jews who had already gone over to the Babylonians. And when Nebuchadnezzar broke through the wall, his reaction was to try to run away. He was not only a coward, but it seems he was concerned only with himself.

I cannot imagine the horror King Z must have felt when Nebuchadnezzar broke through the city wall; when he and his officials were captured; when his children were put to death before him; when he was blinded and shackled; when he learned of the destruction of the palace, the houses, the walls of Jerusalem. All that Jeremiah said came to pass. After all that selfish fear, did King Zedekiah finally feel remorse for disobeying God, I wonder? It was said clearly, King Z heard it clearly, he rejected it, and now he has the misfortune of being left alive to know of his responsibility in the whole thing, and that he could have saved many people and much property if he had obeyed God.

Look at this piece of mercy found in Jeremiah 39:
10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

And look at the compassion the Lord shows to Jeremiah:
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: 12 "Take him and look after him; don't harm him but do for him whatever he asks." 13 So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.

How did Nebuchadnezzar know about Jeremiah, I wonder? Was it from Jews who had gone over to the Babylonians, or from spies he had in Jerusalem, or some other source? In any case, I am glad to see the Jeremiah is rewarded in this way for his dificult obedience to the Lord. May I be so faithful to God's word and will as was Jeremiah.