And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
This verse belongs to the story told in 2 Kings 6:15-23. Before this moment, the king of Syria prepared an ambush against Israel, the design was revealed through the prophet and his armies were defeated, and when the king learned that Elisha had defeated his armies he sent an armed host to seize him, but God delivered His servant.
In the verse, the king of Israel is in Samaria when the blinded Syrians, led by Elisha from Dothan, have their eyes opened and see themselves as captives in the midst of the city. The king asks Elisha twice whether he should strike and kill the Syrian soldiers who have been brought into Samaria. By addressing Elisha as his father, the king speaks with respect and seeks his permission and direction. The question seeks permission to kill prisoners whom the king did not take captive with sword and bow. The answer given in the next verses is that he shall not strike them but shall set bread and water before them to eat and drink and send them to their master, so the king prepares great provision for them and sends them away, after which the bands of Syria come no more into the land of Israel. In this whole account Elisha is true to principle and true to God, his work bears the divine credentials, and in difficulty and trial God reveals Himself to him as an ever-present helper, with all these lessons serving as admonition for those upon whom the ends of the world are come.
This verse belongs to the story told in 2 Kings 6:15-23. Before this moment, the king of Syria prepared an ambush against Israel, the design was revealed through the prophet and his armies were defeated, and when the king learned that Elisha had defeated his armies he sent an armed host to seize him, but God delivered His servant.
In the verse, the king of Israel is in Samaria when the blinded Syrians, led by Elisha from Dothan, have their eyes opened and see themselves as captives in the midst of the city. The king asks Elisha twice whether he should strike and kill the Syrian soldiers who have been brought into Samaria. By addressing Elisha as his father, the king speaks with respect and seeks his permission and direction. The question seeks permission to kill prisoners whom the king did not take captive with sword and bow. The answer given in the next verses is that he shall not strike them but shall set bread and water before them to eat and drink and send them to their master, so the king prepares great provision for them and sends them away, after which the bands of Syria come no more into the land of Israel. In this whole account Elisha is true to principle and true to God, his work bears the divine credentials, and in difficulty and trial God reveals Himself to him as an ever-present helper, with all these lessons serving as admonition for those upon whom the ends of the world are come.