2019 - 09 - 29 When The Bottom Falls Out Expect The Unexpected By The Rev Peter Moore

This is part 3 in the series "When the Bottom Drops Out" by the Rev. Peter Moore given at Greenfield Presbyterian Church, Berkley, MI. Based on the scripture lesson found in the book of Isaiah of the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible.
Isaiah 45:1-13
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:
2 I will go before you
and level the mountains,[a]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
6 so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.

8 Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,[b]
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
I the Lord have created it.

9 Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter![c]
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
or “Your work has no handles”?
10 Woe to anyone who says to a father, “What are you begetting?”
or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?”
11 Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question me[d] about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth,
and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13 I have aroused Cyrus[e] in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
says the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes:
[a] Isaiah 45:2 Q Ms Gk: MT the swellings
[b] Isaiah 45:8 Q Ms: MT that they may bring forth salvation
[c] Isaiah 45:9 Cn: Heb with the potsherds, or with the potters
[d] Isaiah 45:11 Cn: Heb Ask me of things to come
[e] Isaiah 45:13 Heb him