The enemy hath spread out his hands on all her
pleasant
things
Meaning not the wealth and riches, the goods and substance, or
the rich furniture in their own houses; but the precious things
in the house of God, the ark, the table, the altar, the priests
garments, and vessels of the sanctuary, and the gifts of the
temple, and everything valuable in it; these the enemy stretched
out his hands and seized upon, and claimed them as his own; took
them as a booty, prey, and plunder. Jarchi F23
interprets the enemy of the Moabites and Ammonites, who seized
upon the books of the law, in which are things more desirable
than gold and silver, and burnt them; because there was a law in
them that forbid them entering into the congregation of Israel;
but the Targum better explains it of Nebuchadnezzar the wicked;
for he and the Chaldean army are doubtless meant; who plundered
and ransacked the temple of all its pleasant, precious, and
valuable things: for she hath seen [that] the Heathen
entered into her sanctuary;
not into the land of Israel only, the holy land; but into the
temple, the sanctuary of the Lord; but called hers, because it
was built for her use, that the congregation of Israel might
worship the Lord in it; into this with her own eyes, though
forced to it, and sore against her will, and to her great grief
and trouble, she saw the Chaldeans enter, and ravage and spoil
it: whom thou didst command [that] they should not enter
into thy
congregation;
these Jarchi interprets of the Moabites and Ammonites again; and
so does the Targum here; paraphrasing them thus,
``whom thou didst command by the hand of Moses the prophet, concerning Ammon and Moab, that they were not worthy to enter into thy congregation;''and concerning whom there is an express law forbidding it, ( Deuteronomy 23:1-3 ) ; and it may be there were Moabites and Ammonites in the Chaldean army, assisting in the taking of Jerusalem; and who entered into the temple when it was taken.