And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab
is
weary on the high place
With weeping there, ( Isaiah 15:2 ) or with
frequent sacrifices, and going from one high place to another, as
Balak king of Moab did; and by comparing places together, it
looks as if this was the way of the Moabites in their distress,
to offer up a multitude of sacrifices in different places; now,
when it should be seen by others, and appear to themselves, that
they wearied themselves in vain, and all their cries and
sacrifices were to no purpose, they should then be ashamed of
them, leave off, and betake themselves to some other method;
though Jarchi interprets it of their being weary of fighting on
the high places of their towers, which when observed, they would
take another course, and apply to devotion: that he shall
come to his sanctuary to pray;
to the temple of Chemosh, and to pray to that idol to help him, (
1 Kings
11:7 ) : but he shall not prevail;
his prayers shall be ineffectual; his suit will be fruitless, and
without success; or "he cannot", that is, his idol cannot help
him. So Kimchi interprets his sanctuary of the house of his God;
and the Targum, of the house of his idolatry; yet since the house
or temple of an idol is never called a sanctuary, it may be
understood of God's sanctuary, the temple at Jerusalem; and the
sense be, that when Moab shall see that his praying and
sacrificing to idols are in vain, and he has tired himself with
his superstition and idolatry, without having any redress, he
shall think and express his desire of going up to the temple of
Jerusalem, and of praying to the God of Israel; but he shall not
be able to do it, because of the enemy; and could he get thither,
he would not prevail with God, for the decree was gone forth,
which could not be frustrated, as follows. Ben Melech interprets
it of the palace of the king.