MIB has been after Sawyer all along by The Goatman

Submitted for your consideration. I believe that the ashes in the storyline can either be Jacob's or MIB's. That's why I think that both Richard and Ben have been deceived. They neither one had ever seen Jacob and were following the wrong leader. Jacob had been trapped in the hut and held in by MIB's ashes. At some point after Richard's arrival on the island he was saved from MIB by Jacob. The relationship between Richard and Jacob continued until MIB regained the upper hand over Jacob and imprisioned him in the hut.

Still none of our islanders had seen either MIB or Jacob. Ben and Richard now continued to do MIB's bidding under the impression that he was Jacob. MIB has been waiting all along for Sawyer to come on the island. Think about it. He tried to blow up Jin on the freighter. He made sure the other candidates left the island for what he thought was good in the helicopter. He wanted Locke and only Locke to ! leave using the donkey wheel because he was a candidate. Ben knew the names on the list and thought that he could kill Locke and replace him on the list. That's why he is at a loss now on what to do next. Ben thought that MIB(concealing itself as Jacob) was the be all and end all of life everlasting. He wanted into this clubhouse. But, Locke as a candidate was suppose to be stone dead. This whole Flocke thing has him spocked. Locke, Jack, Hugo, Sayid, and Sun all stateside and Jin blown to smithereens, would have left him on the island with his intended victim, Sawyer. He has been after Sawyer all along. I believe that the cave of names was his dwelling place and the shadow of the statue was Jacob's dwelling place. He's the one who wrote all those names on the ceiling and crossed them out. When he crossed out Locke's name, he was just crossing out the next one to his goal. He just hadn't returned home until he went there with Sawyer. I don't know what MIB has in store for ! him, but Sawyer has been his man all along.