The biblical storyteller not only is clearly on board with the idea that Mesha’s sacrifice worked, but didn’t even feel the need to explain the concept to his readers. Neither does the writer explain why Yahweh didn’t interfere at that point and give the Israelites a glorious victory despite the sacrifice. I mean, I would expect to read, “And yet, Chemosh was still powerless to stop Israel’s Yahweh-backed victory.” Perhaps Yahweh didn’t want to back a coalition led by the northern kingdom (the writers of 1 and 2 Kings have nothing good to say about the north).
