"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!" has been a humorous non-swear swear for a long time. But who was Jehoshaphat and why was he so jumpy?

This week I'm going to tell you a story from the Old Testament which highlights the difficulty of remaining at peace during times of way and how fight or flight are not the only options. There is a third way, a choice we can each make, one that involves following the Way of the LORD.

Which way did Jehoshaphat jump and which path will you choose?

We live in a world full of violence and pain. Our culture celebrates retribution and preemptive strikes - the destruction or at least submission of our enemies as payback for what they have (or might have) inflicted on us.

The Bible certainly contains many stories of the same kinds of struggles, of harm being done to the people of God and of their responses. Obviously, this provides a righteous path for us to respond to those who would harm us or our families or friends with the same kind of brutality and death they visited on us, right?

Our final Horror Story of the Bible for this season is one of the deep craving we have to visit the pain we feel onto those we hold responsible for it and anyone associated with them. What does God call on his people to do in the face of violence being done to them?

It may be that Old Testament vengeance isn't what you think it is.

This week, the Return of Horror Stories from the Bible continues with a tale of ghosts or demons responding to a call from King Saul. Why would Israel's first king turn his back on the commands of God to chase after messages from the dead? And what will he do when the message he gets is not at all what he hoped?

Grab your popcorn and sit near a friend while we dig deep into this dark story from a dark time.