God’s displeasure with Job’s other friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) was that they misrepresented him. He would discipline them in the need bot oddly Elihu would be left out of that discipline. Perhabs because Elihu represents God slightly differently.
Elihu summarizes Job’s complaints against God (Job 33:9-11):
“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:
“I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no guilt.
But he finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.
He puts my feet in the stocks;
He stands watch over all my paths.””
Then Elihu says what he thinks:
“But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man” (Job 33:12).
He continues.
“Why do you take Him to court for not answering anything a person asks? For God speaks time and again but a person may not notice it” (Job 33:13-14).
Elihu then begins to tell Job that God speaks to men in dreams and visions but that his speaking is to warn them.
“He uncovers their ears at that time and terrifies them with warnings, in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress his pride. God his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death” (Job 33:16-17).
And perhaps this is where Elihu represents God differently. The other friends basically say Job has sinned and he needs to repent, that God brings judgment against sinners. Their representation of God is an angry one seeking to bring judgment against all wrong-doers. That he blesses the good and judges the bad.
Elihu on the other hand states that God speaks to man and allows difficult things as discipline, in order to save him from his sins and save him from going to the Pit with no return. Notice in fact 4x (3 here and 1 above) the “Pit” factor.
“Is there is an angel on his side, one mediator our of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.” then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth” (Job 33:23-24).
“He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.” God certainly does all these things two or three times to a man in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life” (Job 33:28-30).
Elihu is acknowledging his belief that Job has sinned, but instead of seeing Job’s suffering has a harsh form of punishment and judgment, he is stating that God’s allowing him to suffer was to be redemptive, loving, and to save him from the Pit.
While this is a more accurate picture of what is happening, he is still saying this has come upon Job because of his sin. So it wasn’t an entirely accurate picture of Job. But it is a more accurate picture of God. Corrective action as we see throughout the time of the judges when there was sin in the land was a call to bring people back to him. Sometimes God allowed Israel to suffer the consequences of their actions and remove his divine protection for the sake of waking them up. So it is one of the ways in which God does things. Although in this case Job had not done anything overtly wrong.
