If you turn again to the passage we read Job 22 where Eliphaz again for the final time rebukes Job and sets forth his own understanding. Towards the end of the chapter from verse 23 he exhorts Job to return to God. He says, if thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee, and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up, and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent and it is delivered by the pureness of thy hands. He shall deliver the island of the innocent.

Throughout this chapter, just as in the previous times when Eliphaz and Job's two other friends spake under him, Eliphaz effectively repeats the same accusations. He condemns Job. To Eliphaz he can see nothing but that Job's situation, Job's calamity is of his own doing. God is judging Job. God is chastising Job because of Job's own sin.

Previously they've questioned and effectively wondered, Job you must have done something. You or your children, there must be something. And yet as time goes on they become more and more pointed. Here Eliphaz says straight to Job, is not thy wickedness great, and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. How wicked thou art! And now thou art paying the price, Job. Return unto God. Confess your sin, return unto Him, turn to the Almighty, and He will reward thee.

As we've seen before, to Eliphaz, he can see no grace, only reward for our obedience. If we serve God, if we turn to God, if we live a right, he will reward us, he will make us rich, he will bless us. And if we suffer in this world, if trouble comes our way, then it must be due to our sin. To a life as he sees through a glass of law, a legal rule, works bringing rewards. And all he can see when he looks upon Job is a man worthy of condemnation.

He begins, as it were, by condemning Job as being self-righteous. Can a man be profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment? You're wicked, Job, and yet you think you're righteous. You think you're innocent. Well, clearly you're not, otherwise this trouble would not have come your way. though he describes Job's wickedness as being great. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink. Thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. He accuses him of lacking kindness and mercy towards others.

What accusations to throw at him! The Lord's testimony of Job as we saw in Job chapter 1 is that outwardly he was a righteous man. There was none like him upon the earth, he loved God, he served God. And yet without foundation Eliphaz points the finger because to him Surely then Job must have failed to do things he should have done. Perhaps he cannot point a finger and say, you did this wrong, but you failed to do this. You clearly didn't love your brother as you should have done. You clearly didn't give water to the weary and bread to the hungry. Before God, Job, you're wicked.

then he claims that Job thinks that his wickedness is hidden that God cannot see him that God is in the height of heavens and behold how high he is how doth God know thou sayest? can he judge through the dark cloud? he accuses Job of hiding thinking that God cannot see what he's done but God must know Job whatever you've done whatever secret sins there are whatever failure there is he can see he knows and hence he judges you so he says God has judged you Job he's brought this trouble on you because of your sin your failures turn to God Job Turn to the Almighty. Confess your sin. Turn to Him. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence. and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Turn to God, Job, and he will reward you. He will reward you. A life as his whole understanding of God is that he rewards the works of men. Those who turn to him, those who serve him, those who walk right before him will prosper. And those who suffer in this world, those who are cast down, those who are broken, those who are cast out and rejected, are clearly under the judgment of God. Everything to a life has its works. Yet Job knew in his heart that though he was a sinner, that there was some other cause for this trouble. And he trusted in the grace, the mercy, the love of God, his Saviour. He looked to his Redeemer.

But a life as his condemnation, as we've seen before, is not just against job and if we share his attitude as we do by nature that's not just directed at others as a life has directed his scorn against job this reveals a life as his attitude towards god himself and god's son Job is a picture of Christ in his sufferings. And when men saw Christ, when Christ came into this world, humbled as a man, when he was cast out and rejected, and ultimately delivered up to be crucified, men railed upon him. They found fault with him. They condemned him. They saw the situation he was brought into upon the cross as something he deserved of his own making. The Jews gave him up to be crucified. They said he's guilty of death. He's a blasphemer. He made himself equal with God. Crucify him. Crucify him. Look at his wickedness. Is not thy wickedness great? They said of Christ. And thine iniquities infinite. That was their attitude towards God's own Son. He's a sinner. He's a winebibber. He mixes with sinners. This man receiveth sinners. He's a devil. How does he heal these people? He's got a devil in him. They did not see God in Christ. They did not see the righteousness of God in Christ. They cast him out as a wicked sinner worthy of death. And so do we by nature. We look at him and we push him far from us. We do not receive him, we do not receive his gospel, we do not care for him. And effectively in such an attitude we say, his wickedness is great.

In Eliphaz's attitude to Job he says, Do this, and thou wilt be rich. Return to the Almighty, and thou shalt be built up. Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then thou shalt lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Thou shalt have plenty of silver. He promises a reward. if Job just obeys. He exhibits the same attitude that the tempter, Satan, the accuser, had when he tempted Christ himself. He took Christ up into a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth and said, if you just do this, if you bow down to me, If you do my bidding, I will give you all this, the whole world. I'll give you all the gold of Ophir and all the silver you can see. All will be yours if you follow me. At its heart, that is behind what Eliphaz has to say here. If you do this, God will give you riches, beyond measure, in reward for your obedience. The Gospel says otherwise, and Job knew otherwise. He knew that the reward of his works was death, because even his righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And he knew that all that he received of God that was lasting and good came by grace and grace alone.

A life as preaches what many preach. All false religion comes with the same promise. The same promise of reward for works. You do this and you'll have all of this. Oh the gold you will have, the silver you will have, the prosperity you will have, the peace and success you will have. Follow God like this, receive Jesus into your heart, live a life of obedience and you will prosper. What a lie it is, what a deceit. So many follow and when trouble comes, they're perplexed. What happens when your obedience stutters? What happens when sin overcomes you? What happens when your faith is overcome by doubt? What happens when you stumble and fall? Where's the reward then? Where's the hope then? How despair floods in? What kind of a foundation is this to build your life upon? Your ability. your strength, your wisdom, your will, all of which crumbles and fails if you know it for real.

Eliphaz begins by speaking of righteousness. Can a man be profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? He accuses Job of effectively being self-righteous. But he points us to righteousness. And if we look for righteousness in self, he's quite right. God doesn't need our righteousness. There's no pleasure to God in our righteousness. There's no pleasure to God in our self-righteousness. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Our best deeds are tainted by sin. Sin has so defiled us in the fall that there is nothing we can do by nature, no matter how good it may seem outwardly, There's nothing we can do that is profitable, that is pleasing unto God.

Eliphaz accuses Job of not giving clothing to the naked, of not giving water to the weary to drink, of withholding bread from the hungry. Well, you may do all those things. You may be the most zealous and the kindest, and the most self-denying. You may clothe the naked and feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty. You may take in the homeless. You may be as zealous as you can be for every day of your life and yet everything is tainted by sin. It boosts our pride. We look to what we've done. We come unto God and say, Lord, Lord, I've done this in thy name and that in thy name. I've clothed the naked, I've fed the hungry. I've given drink to the thirsty. And we cannot see the pride that defiles it all. And God will say unto us in that day, depart from me. he worker of iniquity. These works, these righteousnesses are as nothing unto God. And Eliphaz condemns Job and points to his supposed sin. But Job was looking not to his works, not to his righteousnesses, not to self, but unto his Redeemer.

God taught Job that there's no righteousness in man, that our works cannot save us, that our will cannot save us. He stripped Job of everything. He brought Job to an end of self, an end of all ability. He touched even his health. He brought him to be a wreck that could not do one thing. But look, by faith unto a Redeemer. God taught Job the gospel. In his own suffering, he saw one who would suffer for him. In his own wretchedness he saw another who was despised and rejected by all for him. In his own pain he saw another who suffered unimaginable pain for him. In his loneliness He saw another who was cast out by all men. And even his father turned his back upon Christ. He saw in Christ another who was cast out by all who knew loneliness like no man has ever known. In the darkness, He saw another who suffered unimaginable darkness upon the cross for him. Burdened, Job saw another who bore the burden of his sin and took it away. despised by his friends, despised and rejected, and mocked and scorned, he looked to another who was mocked, scorned, rejected, spat upon, beaten, bruised for him.

Job looked for righteousness, not in self, not in his obedience, not in his serving of God, but in Christ, who took away his sin and made him to be the righteousness of God. He looked for a Redeemer. He trusted by grace alone. Eliphaz promises Job that if he returns to the Almighty that he will lay up gold as dust, the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Thou shalt have plenty of silver. He promises reward. But Job wasn't looking for gold and silver below. Job's riches were in Christ, his Saviour. Job may have been stripped of all his earthly riches, even his family. He may have been brought to nothing, but in such a state, by grace, in Christ, he had all the riches of God. He had all. He had more gold than that found in Ophir. More silver than you'll find in this world. He had all the riches of God in Jesus Christ. And these weren't a reward for his obedience, his decision, his faith even. These were poured upon him Though he was a sinner, though by nature he didn't believe, though by nature he was as others, God set his love upon him. And he knew, in Christ his Redeemer, he had all the riches of God. Christ was his all in all. What riches are you looking for? How we by nature pass through this world seeking and grasping and trying to gather everything we can and trying to hold on to it even to the grave and then death takes us away and it's all gone. We cannot help ourselves. By nature we see what's around, we grasp, we grasp, we try to store up for the future, we try to ensure that we will make it to the end without being in poverty. We grasp for all that is here below, not just riches but earthly honour, acclaim, pleasure, fame, adulation, love, All that can be attained to below, we try to grasp hold of it. Yet God taught Job, by taking it all away, that he needed none of that. All he needed was Christ and Christ alone. Oh, that God would bring us there. Eliphaz goes on to speak of the humble. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say there is lifting up, and he shall save the humble person. In this he sees a truth. Job himself had indeed been humbled by these circumstances. But only God can humble us. By nature, none is humble. We're full of pride. Full of pride, Eliphaz in all his words here exhibits pride in his own understanding and knowledge. Listen to me, Job. This is how it is, Job. We see in all these exchanges between these men and Job, the pride of man ringing through. in these three men's words and accusations and condemnation of Job. And even in some of Job's responses, their attitude, their condemnation, their arguments bring out Job's self-defense. They cause him to justify himself, to defend himself. And we see his pride coming up.

Yet through it all God humbled his servant. He kept Job low. This trial humbled him. It broke him. It brought him to an end of self and all trust in self and how you and I need to be brought there. How we need to be brought to an end of looking upon anything that we are or anything that we do as being of merit before God.

James writes, God giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. God's work is to bring us down, particularly to bring the pride of self in religion to an end of itself. Now, what we do, what we know is nothing. And Christ is all. Peter echoes the same words, almost word for word, that James writes. God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble, he writes in 1 Peter 5. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. God will bring us down and by his grace he'll give us a heart to see that we are nothing and Christ is all. As John The Baptist said, when Christ came unto him, he must be exalted and I must be abased. Man must be brought to nothing, to nothing, to see Christ in all his glory.

And the humbling of God's servant, Job, and of all his people, is simply a picture of that humility seen in their Saviour. It's written of Christ in Philippians 2, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Job lost all his riches He lost his family. He lost his health. But God spared his life. Christ set aside all the riches of glory. He was humbled as being a man, fashioned as a man, made a little lower than the angels. He came into the darkness and depravity of this world and became obedient unto death. He went where no one could go. He went to the cross. He bore the sins of his people. He endured the darkness of God's judgment against sin. He gave himself. sinners. He gave himself for Job. Did he give himself for you?

And Eliphaz ends with these interesting words. He shall deliver the island of the innocent and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. He shall deliver the island of the innocent. To a life as innocence comes through our works. If you sin, you're guilty. If you do the right thing, you're innocent. To a life as the innocent man is rewarded by God because of his innocence.

But Job knew that by nature there's none innocent. We're all guilty. There is none righteous, no not one. We are all guilty. His innocence was found in Christ his Saviour. Job knew he was innocent, but not in himself. through another. He saw his righteousness, his purity in Christ alone. He saw himself, as it were, on an island in Christ. Thou shalt, he shall deliver the island of the innocent. There he is, alone, cast out, sat there in The rejection, the misery that he's in. All men wagging a finger, but there he is in Christ. He sits as it were in Christ upon an island. There's none with him to comfort him. All around accuse him. But he's alone with Christ his Saviour by faith.

Oh, he has an island. It's there by faith. It's not a physical island for Job, but it's a place where when he closed his eyes, he saw his saviour. He saw his righteousness in Christ. He saw his absolute innocence in Christ. He saw his salvation in Christ. There on that island with Christ, he had all the riches of God in Christ. He had all his hope, all his redemption, all his mercy. He had all things in Christ. What a place to be, oh that God would bring us, would bring you and I out of this world, this heaving world of a multitude, who all have something to say, who all say, go this way, go that way, do this and be rich, do this and gain gold, do this and have silver. Go this way, go that way, there's a multitude of voices, a multitude of churches, a multitude of preachers. And it's anything but an island. There's a multitude.

But in the gospel, God will pick up one by one and bring them to Christ. and by faith he'll humble them, he'll bring them to an end of themselves, they'll lose all their earthly riches in a spiritual sense, all that they might trust in naturally, and they'll find themselves alone with Christ, on an island with him, outside the camp. Come outside the camp, come to the feet of Jesus at the cross, and look to him. Come where that thief came, where he was alone with Christ at the cross, and said, Lord, remember me when thou dost enter thy kingdom. And Christ said unto him, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And that day, that thief found himself on an island with Christ, an island of the innocent. He had all he needed in Christ. an island of the innocent.

We're reminded of John on the Isle of Patmos, separated from man in exile, separated from the busyness, the noise of this world, cast out by man alone. That man John, that apostle who had walked and lived with Christ, he wasn't there in a church full of a thousand people ready to hear his preaching, but he was there alone on Patmos when he saw and heard his Saviour Jesus Christ.

I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Phaetira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like under fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death.

Alone on this island, John saw Christ his Saviour. On an island of the innocent, he saw his Saviour, he saw his righteousness, he saw his innocence, he saw his salvation. We all need to be brought there, as John was, as Job was, as Noah was.

When Noah, with his family, was put in the ark by the Lord, and brought through the storms of judgment, when the rains came down upon the earth, and consumed the wicked, and flooded the entire earth, in that Judgment, a picture of the cross, when God condemned the wicked but delivered his people in the ark in Christ.

That ark came to rest upon the top of the Mount Ararat, an island surrounded by the sea, a picture of the island of the innocent. Here they were in Christ. and Christ, their righteousness, came to rest on that island, the dove having flown out and brought back that leaf, the dove having found peace for them, peace for them in a new kingdom, a new earth, as John would find in the new heavens and the new earth of which he spake in that revelation.

In Acts 27 and 28, at the end of the book of Acts, Paul writes of being shipwrecked on the way to Rome. Almost the final things we read of the apostles there in that book, as Paul is brought to his final destination in Rome, where ultimately he would lose his life and then go to be with Christ his Saviour. He's brought to be shipwrecked on an island. Alone. Alone. But one who was in Christ.

All of this pictures Job. His trial brought him, as it were, to an island. Everything was taken away. Everything was as it were drowned under the waters of judgment. It was separated. Separated from others, separated from the riches of this world, separated from all that he might have trusted in. He was cast out by others. He was alone. And to Eliphaz, Job was there because Job was guilty and Job deserved it. Yet in reality, Job found himself on that spiritual island because he was innocent and Job found his innocence in Christ alone.

Where are you and I looking? O that God would place us on an island, that he would strip us of all our self-righteousness, all confidence in the flesh, all human wisdom, all earthly religion, that he would bring us low, that he would humble us, that he would take away all that we trust in here below, all that we trust in in South, that he would take away all the riches of earthly religion, that we may cling on to like a lifeless did. Oh, that God would separate us and set us alone before him. Oh that God would do this for you, that he would take you and strip you of all things and set you alone before him on an island as it were, like John on Patmos, like Noah on Ararat, like Paul shipwrecked on that island, like Job alone and cast out, but on an island of the innocent in Christ.

O that God would bring us away from man and to Christ alone, away from works and to grace alone, away from sight and natural reason and to faith alone. O that he bring us to Christ. Has he brought you to know, to know by grace that though you were guilty, that though a life as may have been right about you at one point, that though you were guilty, though you were lost in your sin, now in Christ you are innocent, washed in his blood, righteous in Christ alone.

Is Christ your all in all? Is he your island of the innocent? Oh, may God give us grace. May he bring us to where Job was. May he send a storm like he did to Paul to shipwreck us upon an island to exile us like he did to John, to bring us to a place where Christ is revealed unto us in glory and in power. May he place us in the island of the innocent with Christ our Saviour. May he be our all in all. Amen.