Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.

In the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Jeff Parrott.

Some people call it the magic moment.

It's that mysterious period of time where a Polaroid photograph develops right before your eyes.

The revealing of that image carries a kind of inherent, dramatic effect.

Indeed, there is something magical about that short period of time where the developing agent

spreads across the film and veiling a memory to

tangibly carry around with us. Now, even though there's a scientific, engineered reason for that

photo developing in your hands, it really does feel kind of magical. I think that's one of the

biggest reasons why I was always drawn to our family's Polaroid camera as a kid.

It's one of the biggest reasons why even in a time of sophisticated, instantaneous digital

photography, people still pursue the relatively slower developing process of Polaroid photos.

We're somehow wired to be in awe of seeing that image slowly reveal itself

before our eyes. For people who follow Jesus, who are considering who Jesus is,

reading through the Old Testament historical books can sometimes feel like a Polaroid photo

developing in front of our eyes. Only this process took

roughly 1,000 years of redemptive history and has taken us an entire year to read. This portion

of the Bible is a little bit like a Polaroid. Each passing chapter or book gives us a deeper sense of our need for Jesus and a clear picture of what he's really like.

In the prophetic book of Isaiah, these previews of the Messiah, the anointed saving king of God's people,

these previews are dialed up even more. The Polaroid is developing, and we're seeing more and more of what

the reigning king will be like and what his restorative reign will look like. Our time in the

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