Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
June 25, 2020
Daily Reading from the USCCB: 2 Kings 24:8-17
The kings who preceded King Josiah and who succeeded him were not as devoted to God as Josiah. They were evil in the sight of the Lord.
Consequently the Babylonians came and besieged Jerusalem. When they had captured Jerusalem they carried off its treasures and most of the citizens of distinction. As part of this first deportation the Babylonians set up a puppet king, Zedekiah, who quickly revolted against the Babylonian overlords.
In retaliation the Babylonians returned and totally destroyed Jerusalem. The temple was dismantled and burned, the city walls destroyed, another wave of people taken into exile. After this second deportation, which took place in 587 B.C., nothing was left of the holy city. God would not allow himself to be mocked any longer.
