"I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. 28 God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life" (Job 33:27-28). 

    Elihu now speaks three times. Each time he challenges Job, quotes Job, and exposits an attribute of God that speaks to Job's situation. Here we consider the first challenge. Job had said,

"But you have said in my hearing—
I heard the very words—
9 I am pure, I have done no wrong;
I am clean and free from sin.
10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
11 He fastens my feet in shackles;
he keeps close watch on all my paths" (Job 33:8-11).

Elihu corrects Job, 

 “But I tell you, in this you are not right,
for God is greater than any mortal" (Job 33:12).

Job is in no position as a sinner and mortal to judge the providence of God. Job has integrity and is not a hypocrite, but he is not so clean and free from sin! But God is gracious to sinners! God has not become Job's enemy and left him to wander blindly in the darkness. God has communicated to His people through dreams (Job 33:15) and angels (Job 33:23) concerning His gracious purposes. Elihu says, God communicates,

"...to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword..." (Job 33:18).

God in grace chastens to keep sinners from "going down to the pit" (Job 33:24). They are redeemed because they are ransomed (Job 33:24). In this grace they are restored and renewed,

"...let their flesh be renewed like a child’s;
let them be restored as in the days of their youth —
26 then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,
they will see God’s face and shout for joy;
he will restore them to full well-being.
27 And they will go to others and say,
‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right,
but I did not get what I deserved.
28 God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life’" (Job 33:25-28).

Their response to God's grace is one of thanksgiving and joy filled prayer. Restored they testify to God's grace to forgive their sin. The repentant say "I did not get what I deserved!"

     This is not a unique action on God's part! God over and over, time and again pursues and deals with his children with His grace, even in His chastising grace. Elihu continues,

29 “God does all these things to a person—
twice, even three times—
30 to turn them back from the pit,

that the light of life may shine on them" (Job 33:29-30).

His chastisements are for the believer's well being and will only last as long as they fulfill God's gracious purposes. His discipline is a evidence of redemption. The author of Hebrews writes, 

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all" (Heb 12:7-8).  

It is the fatherless that are not disciplined. The correcting hand of the Father is a reassurance of God chastening love.

   God's chastening is not retribution. God does not repay the redeemed according to their sins. The end of the believer is NOT the sum of the decisions he has made and the actions he has taken. The end of the believer is glorification brought about by the gracious hand of God. In the end, "the light of life" will shine on the redeemed. Elihu exhorts Job to see his suffering as the kindness of God in his life, for his redemption. God is not his enemy. God is his Redeemer.