In Job, chapter thirty-three, verse nine, Elihu falsely stated that the servant of God was claiming moral perfection: that he was “without transgression” all his life. Job never insisted that he was sinless, as in chapter thirteen, verse twenty-six, “For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.” However, Job followed God’s ways with all his heart. He could never recall committing serious transgression that merited such severe punishment. In chapters twenty-seven, verses five through six, and thirty-one, verses one through forty, respectively.
Elihu is judging from the outside of his friend Job, not knowing what he is experiencing on the inside. Similar to Job’s wife in chapter two, verse nine, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.” She did not understand how or why this was happening to her husband. All she was doing was assessing the situation like Elihu. Job’s wife had been with him since being united together, and like us, we would wonder why this was happening.
The truth of this situation with Job is that the enemy sees how Job is living before God and is doing it in obedience and accordance with a perfect heart. Although we know that no one is perfect in the sight of God, this servant was living in faith according to God’s Word and the ways of the Lord in practical terms. Actions speak louder than words, so that explains why the enemy desires to attack him and cause disruption among family, friends, and other associates Job had.
Elihu was reacting to the situation. He knows Job because he is his friend and sees how he is before him. However, his heart is not like the servant of God because if it were, the things expressed would differ from what we read. Elihu would receive revelation if he lived like the servant of God by the Spirit of God.