25/06/2026
🟢 12th THURSDAY OF ORDINARY TIME 🟢
2nd 24:8-17
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
His mother's name was Nehushta,
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
He did evil in the sight of the LORD,
just as his forebears had done.
At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
himself arrived at the city
while his servants were besieging it.
Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother,
his ministers, officers, and functionaries,
surrendered to the king of Babylon, who,
in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive.
And he carried off all the treasures
of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace,
and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel,
had provided in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold.
He deported all Jerusalem:
all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number,
and all the craftsmen and smiths.
None were left among the people of the land except the poor.
He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon,
and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon
the king's mother and wives,
his functionaries, and the chief men of the land.
The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon
all seven thousand men of the army,
and a thousand craftsmen and smiths,
all of them trained soldiers.
In place of Jehoiachin,
the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king,
and changed his name to Zedekiah.
This passage has a very important historical context. The Babylonian exile was not an arbitrary act of God, but the consequence of many years of infidelity by the people and their kings.
In this passage, we see how King Jehoiachin reigned just a few months before Jerusalem was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and a large part of the population was deported to Babylon. The text clearly states that "this happened because of the Lord's anger," but this expression does not imply an impulsive or vengeful God. Rather, it expresses that Israel had reached the limit of its rejection of the covenant.
When it says, "Jehoiachin, like his father, did what the Lord detests," it is not saying that Jehoiachin committed a single, specific sin, but that he continued the same lifestyle and style of governance as his father, Jehoiakim, who had already turned away from God.
"Doing what the Lord detests" means that he:
- Permitted or practiced idolatry, worshipping false gods.
- -He did not obey God's Law nor did he encourage the people to obey it.
-He ruled unjustly, seeking his own interests before the good of the people.
-He disregarded the warnings of the prophets, especially those of Jeremiah, who constantly called for conversion.
Interestingly, Joachim reigned for only three months. That is, he did not have time to change the course of the kingdom; rather, he continued down the wrong path he had inherited from his father and showed no intention of repenting. That is why the text judges him along with his father.
What does this teach us today?
There is a very relevant lesson: it is not enough to inherit a tradition or a way of life; each person must decide if they want to follow God. Joachim could have broken with his father's mistakes, but he chose to continue down the same path.
It also invites us to ask ourselves: Am I repeating habits, attitudes, or sins that I have learned, or am I allowing God to transform my life? God's grace always gives us the possibility of starting over, even if we come from a difficult past.
That is the hope of the Gospel: we are never condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past if we open our hearts to God.
Thus, the cause of the deportation had deep roots. For generations, the people and their leaders had abandoned the Lord: they worshipped idols, committed injustices, shed innocent blood, forgot the Law, and trusted more in political alliances than in God. The prophets, especially Jeremiah, repeatedly called them to conversion, but they refused to listen.
The deportation was the consequence of that obstinacy: by turning away from God, they also lost the protection and peace He offered them.
Finally, how many times have you wondered where the Lord was in the difficulties of your life and how long your suffering would last? Do you experience trials as punishment or as an opportunity to turn back to God and grow in faith? When things happen that we don't understand, that are beyond our control, we tend to despair. We so often run from the cross because we don't want to experience pain and suffering. We struggle to find meaning in the pain that erupts in our lives or in the lives of those we love most. We feel powerless because most situations overwhelm us, and we don't have answers for everything.
With the example of deportation, the Lord shows you the way. It's not an easy or bearable journey, but it is the safest, because it leads to eternal life. Christians don't run from the cross because they know it is their ladder to Heaven. Do not be afraid; surrender yourself to God the Father. He knows all your struggles and is by your side every day of your life.
🧔🏽🗣👥️👥️🙇♂️🙇🙇♀️📖💒✝️🙏😊❤️ SOURCE: Bible of Jerusalem ChatGPT / dominicos.org 2026 SHARE