איוב, פרק ל״ד, פסוק ט׳

The deepest crises of faith often arise when personal tragedy contradicts deeply held beliefs. Driven by his own devastating experiences, Job presents his harshest and most bitter argument against Divine Providence. Viewing himself as a completely innocent and righteous man who has been struck by heavy, unearned suffering [מלבי״ם], he concludes that God does not reward those who do good.

This leads to a severe conclusion: if a person suffers despite living a flawless life, there is simply no point in serving the Creator [רמב״ן]. The primary approach among commentators is that Job is declaring that a person gains absolutely no personal profit, benefit, or pleasure from choosing to follow God [רש״י, אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, מצודת ציון]. He sees no advantage whatsoever in maintaining a pure path.

This lack of benefit applies to all aspects of a faithful life. Whether devotion is understood as actively doing God's will to find favor in His eyes [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון], or as the ongoing journey of walking closely with God and remaining deeply attached to Him [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ], Job asserts that these righteous choices yield no true reward [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

Such a claim completely uproots the foundational principles of faith. Elihu is deeply shocked that such severe words could come from a righteous man, and he addresses Job's argument to expose its gravity. Yet, out of profound respect for Job, Elihu finds it too difficult to rebuke him directly for such a serious offense. Instead, he carefully directs his correction toward the wise men listening nearby, avoiding a direct confrontation with the suffering man [אלשיך].