“On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:”
God works on the left hand—Job does not perceive; God hides on the right hand—Job cannot see, extending the exhaustive search into horizontal dimensions and establishing that divine hiddenness becomes the defining characteristic of Job's experience. The work of God that Job cannot perceive contrasts sharply with the traditional assumption that God's handiwork is evident throughout creation, suggesting that for the sufferer, divine activity may be concealed or redirected away from the sufferer's recognition. The hiddenness of God on the right hand—traditionally the position of blessing and favor—intensifies the paradox that even divine favor appears withheld from Job. This prayer-like lament demonstrates that Job's problem is not atheism but practical atheism, the lived experience of divine absence despite intellectual affirmation of God's existence.
Church Fathers on Job 23:9
O that one would grant me that I might know and find Him, that I might come even to His seat! An elect person if he did not know God, assuredly would not love Him. But it is one thing to ‘know’ by faith, and another to know by His own Form, one thing to find by trustfulness, another to find Him by contemplation. In consequence whereof it is brought to pass that Him Whom they know by faith, all of the Elect long to see by His own Form as well. With the love of Whom they burn…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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