Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 18, the Book of Job, and Isaiah 18

Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 18, the Book of Job, and Isaiah 18
For Bible in Ten – By DH – 18th April 2026

Welcome back to Bible in Ten.

Today we completed Matthew 18. And this leads us naturally to Book 18 of the Old Testament: Job. And as an added supporting witness, we can also look to Isaiah 18.

In the previous companion study, Matthew 17 was connected to Esther. That gave us a picture of the kingdom approaching. The Lord was present in Esther, though hidden. Israel was preserved. And the law, pictured through Haman, was shown to be the enemy, while the saving authority belonged to the Christ-picture in Mordecai.

Now in Matthew 18, the scene seems to move forward.The kingdom is not only being anticipated. It is now being morally explained. The question is no longer simply, “How does the kingdom come into view?”

The question now is,
“What kind of spirit belongs in that kingdom?”
“What kind of teaching belongs in it?”
“How are the weak to be treated?”
And what happens when men speak wrongly about God?

That is where Job becomes such a powerful companion to Matthew 18. And Isaiah 18 helps as well, because it gives the sense of the Lord watching from above, pruning before harvest, and then receiving an offering in Zion.

So together, Matthew 18, Job, and Isaiah 18 form a very striking set.

1) Greatness in the kingdom begins with humility

Matthew 18 opens with the disciples asking,
“Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus answers by calling a little child. And He says that unless they turn and become as little children, they will not even enter the kingdom. Then He says that the one who humbles himself as this little child is the greatest.

So the chapter begins with a complete overturning of human ideas of greatness.

Greatness is not rank. It is not force. It is not self-assurance. It is not religious confidence. Greatness is humility. And that is exactly why Job is such a fitting companion book.

Because Eliphaz comes in the opposite spirit.

He sounds wise. He sounds settled. He sounds experienced. He sounds spiritual. But he is not humble.

He speaks as though he understands God’s ways. He speaks as though he can explain suffering. He speaks as though he can interpret Job’s condition with confidence. And yet at the end of the book, God says that Eliphaz and his friends have not spoken rightly concerning Him.

So right away, Job helps expose something Matthew 18 warns us about. A man can sound authoritative, and still be wrong about God.

2) The little ones matter to God

Jesus then warns against despising one of the little ones (a picture of the believer who inherits the kingdom). The preciousness of new life is discernable when Job in his despair calls against the night when his life was conceived and thus declared in Heaven.

And that is exactly where Eliphaz becomes so important in this picture. Job is afflicted. He is broken.He is grieving. He is confused. He is suffering deeply. He is the very kind of man who should be handled with care.

But Eliphaz does not treat him that way. He does not protect the suffering brother.
He does not gently restore him. He does not wait on the Lord.

Instead, he imposes a theory onto him.

He assumes Job must be guilty. He assumes suffering must prove wickedness. He assumes that if Job is crushed, then Job must deserve it. That is not shepherding. That is not humility. That is not kingdom thinking. That is bad teaching.

And this is why Eliphaz can be seen as a picture of a wolf in shepherd’s clothing.

He does not look dangerous at first. He looks sober. He looks religious. He looks thoughtful. But he is speaking wrongly about God. And he is using those wrong ideas against a wounded man.

3) Causing stumbling through false teaching

In Matthew 18 Jesus speaks about causing one of the little ones to stumble. And Job shows how this can happen. It is not only open evil that harms people. Religious error harms people too.

Eliphaz presents a God who is reduced to a hard system of immediate retribution.

In that system:
if you suffer, you must have done evil.
If you prosper, you must be upright.
If you are crushed, you must deserve it.

That sounds tidy.
It sounds moral.
It sounds explainable.

But it is false. And because it is false, it is dangerous.

It can crush the weak.
It can burden the suffering.
It can push people toward despair instead of trust.

That makes Eliphaz a very powerful picture of bad teaching.

And just as was described in CG profound summary in the previous episode, this also helps picture the kind of spirit that reimposes bondage upon men.

Eliphaz may not be a Judaizer in the historical sense, (the Law of Moses had not been given at the time of Job and it does not apply now either), but he certainly shares the same kind of principle.

He burdens instead of freeing.
He accuses instead of restoring.
He puts man under a crushing religious reading, instead of bringing him into rest.

That is always the spirit of false religion.

4) The shepherd seeks the lost sheep

Matthew 18 then gives the parable of the one lost sheep.

The shepherd goes after the wandering one.
The Father does not will that one of these little ones should perish.

This is one of the tenderest parts of the chapter. And again, Job helps by contrast. Because Job’s friends do not act like shepherds seeking a lost sheep. They do not pursue restoration.
They do not move toward healing. They move toward explanation.
Toward accusation. Toward pressure. Toward conclusion.

Perhaps they care more about defending their system than about helping the man.

The true shepherd seeks the sheep.

5) Brotherly restoration versus religious prosecution

Later in Matthew 18, Jesus gives instruction for how to deal with a brother who sins.

The aim is restoration.
“If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”

That is kingdom conduct. Careful, measured. patient and restorative.

But Eliphaz does not move in that spirit. He does not proceed carefully.
He does not begin with gentleness but with assumption. Then he piles interpretation upon suffering. Then he pushes Job under accusation.

So Job gives us a picture of what happens when men try to lead others without truly knowing God. It is religious prosecution instead of brotherly restoration.

6) The unforgiving servant and the spirit of bondage

Matthew 18 closes with the parable of the unforgiving servant. On the surface, the lesson is mercy. But as we saw, there is also something deeper in the background: the danger of bringing men back under debt, burden, and bondage.

And that is another place where Eliphaz fits the picture.

Eliphaz reads Job through a moral ledger.
A debt system.
A burden system.
A retribution system.

He has no room for a righteous sufferer who must simply trust God.
He has no room for grace.
He has no room for divine purpose beyond punishment.

So he becomes a useful picture of the same religious spirit that burdens men with wrong ideas about God.

That spirit is always near wherever grace is obscured.

7) Isaiah 18 — pruning before blessing

Now let us bring in Isaiah 18.

That chapter has a remarkable flow.

The Lord is watching. The nations are in view. Then before the harvest, there is pruning.
Sprigs are cut off. Branches are taken away. And only after that does the chapter move toward an offering being brought to the Lord at Mount Zion.

That fits Matthew 18 very well. Because Matthew 18 is also a pruning chapter.

If the hand offends, cut it off. If the foot offends, cut it off. If the eye offends, pluck it out.

The point is not mutilation. The point is moral seriousness. What causes stumbling must go.
What destroys must be removed. What corrupts kingdom life cannot be allowed to remain.

And Job fits this same pattern too.

The speeches of the friends are exposed. Human wisdom is cut down.
Proud religious certainty is pruned away. Job himself is humbled before God.

Then, after all of that, restoration comes.

So Isaiah 18 gives the prophetic shape. Matthew 18 gives the kingdom teaching. And Job gives the lived moral drama. All three reveal more of the rich tapestry of Scripture.

8) From Esther to Job — a beautiful sequence

If you recall, we described how Matthew 17 with Esther gave a picture of kingdom approach.
The King was present, though hidden. Israel was preserved. The death-word of law was overcome by the saving authority of the Christ-picture.

Now Matthew 18 with Job seems to move into kingdom instruction.

The kingdom is not only coming. Its moral atmosphere is being revealed.The lowly are honored. The little ones are protected. False shepherds are exposed. Pride is cut down. Bad teaching is rebuked. And forgiveness from the heart becomes necessary.

And in that sense, Job becomes a beautiful kingdom book because it shows the wisdom of God overruling the wisdom of men.

9) The end of Job and the heart of Matthew 18

Finally, one of the strongest connections comes at the end of Job.

God rebukes Eliphaz and the others. But Job must pray for them. That is a wonderful ending. The righteous sufferer is vindicated. But he is not vindicated merely to stand above them. He becomes the intercessor for those who wronged him.

And that is profoundly in the spirit of Matthew 18. Forgiveness is not merely a legal thought. It is from the heart.

So Job ends not only with exposure of false teaching, but with mercy flowing through the one who suffered. That is kingdom grace.

Life Application

We can consider how Matthew 18, Job, and Isaiah 18 work together very beautifully.

Matthew 18 gives the moral order of the kingdom: humility, care for the little ones, restoration, mercy, and forgiveness.

Job shows how false religion harms people, especially through Eliphaz, who pictures bad teaching, false shepherding, and the dangerous confidence of men who speak wrongly about God.

Isaiah 18 adds the prophetic shape: the Lord watches, pruning comes before blessing, and the end is Zion.

So as Matthew 17 with Esther pictured the kingdom beginning to come into view, so then Matthew 18 with Job pictures the kingdom’s moral instruction under the reign and direct fellowship with Christ revealing the majesty of the Lord. False religion is exposed. And grace triumphs in the end.

This provides a strong evidence as God being the author of all Scripture. Let us be careful in our reading an appreciation of Scripture.

Praise the Lord.

Lord help us to grasp the power and beauty of your Word and share the beauty of the Gospel and the beauty of your Word while we have this opportunity to do so. For your glory! Amen