
Episode 30: What You Meant for Harm, God Meant for Good (Genesis 50)
- Transcript
Matt Doan
Doxology GO is a daily family devotional podcast that helps kids and families connect with God, the Bible, and each other—wherever you GO!
Doxology GO is built around two simple ideas:
#1 – Following and worshiping (“doxology”) God can happen wherever we GO!
On the way to school, practice, church, around the dinner table, or even as we're getting ready for bed, every part of our day can be an opportunity to know, follow, and worship God.
#2 – Following and worshiping God starts in the home and with the family.
Deuteronomy 6:4–7 reminds parents to impress God's Word on their children and talk about it “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
That's what Doxology GO is all about!
Each short episode is designed to help your family connect with God and with each other through a fun, meaningful, and Gospel-centered look at God's Word, the Bible. Listen on the way to school, around the breakfast or dinner table, or before bed!
In Season 1 (2026–2027), we're taking a chronological journey through the entire Bible—from Genesis to Revelation—to hear 200 amazing Bible stories (corresponding to the 200 or so days of a school year). We'll hear their stories, learn from their lives, and most importantly, discover how each story is part of God's one big rescue story that points us to Jesus!
My name is Matt Doan (DMin, Talbot School of Theology). I'm a husband to Marie, a dad to Lily, Samuel, Seth, and Eden, and a pastor at Calvary Church Santa Ana in Orange County, California.
I'd love to hear how Doxology GO is helping your family connect with God and with each other! You can reach me at mdoan@calvarylife.org.
And please share Doxology GO with other families! You can listen here and wherever you get your podcasts.
Doxology GO — Family Devotions for Life on the Go!

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...” Wow! Joseph wasn't saying that what his brothers did was good. It wasn't good. It was wrong. But Joseph had learned something about God. God is so powerful and so good that He can take even the bad things people do and use them to accomplish His good purposes!

In Genesis, chapter 45, verses 1 and 2 we read, "Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace." Then in Verse 3 of Genesis 45, Joseph said: “I am Joseph!” Can you imagine his brothers' faces? Wait...JOSEPH?! The brother they threw into a pit? The brother they sold? The brother they thought they would never see again? THAT JOSEPH?! The Bible says his brothers were terrified. And you can understand why! They probably thought: “Uh-oh.” Joseph was now one of the most powerful men in Egypt. He could have thrown them in prison. He could have punished them. He could have gotten revenge for everything they had done to him. But Joseph didn't do that. Instead, Joseph told his brothers to come closer. And then he said something amazing. Joseph told them that even though they had done something terrible to him, God had been working through it to save lives. Joseph wasn't pretending that what his brothers did was okay. It wasn't okay. They had sinned against God and against Joseph. But Joseph could now see that their sin was not more powerful than God's plan. And instead of revenge...Joseph chose forgiveness

Genesis 42 tells us the famine wasn't only in Egypt. It reached all the way back to the land where Joseph's family lived. And Joseph's dad, Jacob, heard something: There was food in Egypt! So Jacob sent ten of his 11 sons to Egypt to buy food. Wait a second...Jacob's sons? That means... JOSEPH'S BROTHERS WERE COMING TO EGYPT! These were the same brothers who had been jealous of Joseph. The same brothers who threw him into a pit. The same brothers who sold him as a slave. And now, more than 20 years later, they arrived in Egypt looking for food. Genesis 42:6 tells us something amazing. Joseph's brothers came before him...and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. Does that sound familiar? Way back in Genesis 37, when Joseph was still a teenager, God had given Joseph dreams that one day his brothers would bow down before him. His brothers thought those dreams were ridiculous! But now... There they were. Bowing down before Joseph. God had not forgotten His plan. And here's the really interesting part: Joseph recognized his brothers...but they didn't recognize Joseph!

In Genesis 41, Pharaoh knew these dreams were important, but he had no idea what they meant. And neither did anyone else! And THAT'S when the cupbearer suddenly remembered something. Or more importantly...someone. JOSEPH! The cupbearer told Pharaoh about the young man he had met in prison who had correctly explained his dream. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. Can you imagine this moment? Pharaoh wanted to talk to HIM! Pharaoh told Joseph that he had heard Joseph could understand dreams. But listen to Joseph's answer in Genesis 41:16: “I cannot do it...but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” I LOVE that! Joseph didn't say: “Yep! I'm pretty amazing at dreams!” He didn't take the credit. Joseph said: “I cannot do it...but GOD can.” He knew these dreams were important, but he had no idea what they meant. And neither did anyone else! And THAT'S when the cupbearer suddenly remembered something. Or more importantly... someone. JOSEPH! The cupbearer told Pharaoh about the young man he had met in prison who had correctly explained his dream. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. Can you imagine this moment? Pharaoh wanted to talk to HIM! Pharaoh told Joseph that he had heard Joseph could understand dreams. But listen to Joseph's answer in Genesis 41:16: “I cannot do it...but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” I LOVE that! Joseph didn't say: “Yep! I'm pretty amazing at dreams!” He didn't take the credit. Joseph said: “I cannot do it...but GOD can.” He knew these dreams were important, but he had no idea what they meant. And neither did anyone else! And THAT'S when the cupbearer suddenly remembered something. Or more importantly... someone. JOSEPH! The cupbearer told Pharaoh about the young man he had met in prison who had correctly explained his dream. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. Can you imagine this moment? Pharaoh wanted to talk to HIM! Pharaoh told Joseph that he had heard Joseph could understand dreams. But listen to Joseph's answer in Genesis 41:16: “I cannot do it...but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” I LOVE that! Joseph didn't say: “Yep! I'm pretty amazing at dreams!” He didn't take the credit. Joseph said: “I cannot do it...but GOD can.”

In Genesis 40, Joseph wanted the cupbearer to tell Pharaoh that Joseph had been put in prison even though he hadn't done anything wrong. You would think the cupbearer would run straight to Pharaoh and say,“Hey! There's this guy named Joseph in prison. He helped me! You've got to hear his story!” But Genesis 40 ends with some really sad words. It says in Genesis, Chapter 40, verse 23: “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” He forgot Joseph! After everything Joseph had been through... His brothers had thrown him into a pit. He had been sold as a slave. He had been falsely accused. He had been thrown into prison. And now, the person Joseph thought might help him... forgot all about him. The cupbearer forgot Joseph, but GOD DIDN'T. Joseph may have wondered what God was doing. He may have wondered how long he would have to stay in that prison. But God was still with Joseph. And God was still working out His plan—even when Joseph couldn't see it yet. Sometimes you might feel forgotten too. Maybe your friends didn't invite you to something. Maybe your teacher didn't notice something good you did. Maybe someone promised to do something with you and then forgot. Or maybe you're going through something hard and you're wondering, “God, do You even see or remember me?” The story of Joseph reminds us: God does not forget you. And the greatest proof of that is Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from our sin!

In Genesis, Chapter 39… We read about a time Joseph was blamed for something he didn’t do! If you remember from yesterday’s episode, Joseph was thrown into a pit by his own brothers who were angry and jealous of him because of his special coat and his crazy dreams… Then Joseph’s brothers felt bad about leaving him in a pit… So they sold him to some passing businessmen, and those businessmen took him all the way to Egypt, about a two-week journey from Joseph’s hometown… It was in Egypt that Joseph was sold as a slave to man named Potiphar…But even in this terrible situation for Joseph, we read something really important in Genesis, Chapter 39…If you have a Bible, turn with me to Genesis, Chapter 39 and then look at verse 2: 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned… Just like with Joseph, God is with us wherever we go! #DoxologyGO

In Genesis 37:3, the Bible tells us that Jacob, the Dad, gives his son Joseph a fancy coat… He plays favorites and only gives this special coat to Joseph… This makes the other 11 brothers really mad, I mean really mad… Then, in Genesis 37:5-11, Joseph has 2 dreams… And in both dreams, he sees his brothers bowing down to him as their leader! This makes his brothers even more mad! In fact, Verse 11 of Chapter 37 tells us that they were overwhelmed with jealousy… Throughout the first generations of people in the book of Genesis, there are all kinds of problems between siblings, brothers and sisters… In Episode 5, we talked about Cain being angry at his brother, Abel In Episode 16, we talked about the awkwardness between Isaac and his brother Ismael In Episodes 19, 20 and 23 we talked about the tension between the brothers, Jacob and Esau And now today, it is the anger and jealousy of the 11 brothers against Joseph… All of these stories remind us that one of Satan’s main strategies to ruin and attack you is to get you to be mad, angry, jealous, and hold grudges against your brothers and sisters! So be on your guard against the lie from the enemy… God wants you to love and forgive and have grace with your brothers and sisters as you follow Him! #DoxologyGO

Years earlier, Jacob had tricked Esau out of his birthright. Then Jacob tricked their father, Isaac, and received the special blessing that Esau had expected. Esau was furious! Jacob became so afraid that he ran away from home. But now, about 20 years later, Jacob was coming home. And Genesis 33 tells us that Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him... with 400 men! Uh-oh. What do you think Jacob was thinking? Maybe: "Is Esau still angry?" "Is he coming to hurt me?" Genesis 33:3 tells us that Jacob, bows in humility towards his brother 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But then something completely unexpected happens. Genesis 33:4 says: "But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept." Wow! Esau didn't run toward Jacob to attack him. He ran toward Jacob to hug him. After all those years of anger, fear, hurt, and separation, the two brothers hugged each other and cried. They were finally together again. There is something else I don't want us to miss. Esau ran toward Jacob! Sometimes, when we've hurt someone OR been hurt by someone, God wants us to have the courage to take a step toward making things right. #DoxologyGO #GENESIS33

Something strange happens in Genesis 32:24... “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Who is this mysterious man, and why does he wrestle with Jacob all night? During the struggle, the man touches Jacob’s hip and knocks it out of place. But Jacob continues holding on and says: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” What is happening in this story? In Genesis 32:30, Jacob realizes that this mysterious visitor was somehow God himself! Jacob names the place Peniel, saying: “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Jacob had spent his whole life fighting, tricking, and trying to control everything. But now he realized that he hadn’t just been fighting against people. By refusing to trust God’s goodness and promises, Jacob had been wrestling against God. God could have ended the struggle at any moment. He is God! But in his grace, God was teaching Jacob an important lesson! #DoxologyGO #GENESIS32 #JACOBWRESTLING

Jacob wakes up from a dream and proclaims in Genesis 28:16, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” Jacob had gone to sleep thinking he was in the middle of nowhere. But when he woke up, he realized that God was right there with him. Jacob took the stone he had used as a pillow, stood it up like a pillar, and poured oil over it. He named the place Bethel, which means “house of God.” #DoxologyGo #FamilyDevotions #KidsBible #BibleForKids #Genesis28 #JacobsDream #GodIsWithYou #ChristianParenting #FaithForFamilies #BiblePodcast

In Genesis 27, there is a lot of pretending. Jacob puts on someone else's clothes with the help of his Mom… He covers his hands so they feel like someone else's hands. He tells his father he is someone else. Jacob pretends to be Esau because he desperately wants his father's blessing. But here's what I love about the good news of Jesus: You never have to pretend with God. You don't have to pretend you've never messed up. You don't have to pretend to be somebody you're not. Because God already knows the real you. He knows the things you do that nobody else sees. He knows every lie you've ever told. He knows every selfish thought you've ever had. And God still loves you. That's why Jesus came. Jesus didn't come because we had successfully fooled God into thinking we were good. Jesus came because God knew exactly how sinful we were and loved us enough to rescue us. Jacob tried to disguise himself so his father would accept him. But because of Jesus, we don't have to disguise ourselves before our Heavenly Father. We can come to God honestly.

In Genesis 25, Esau came home from being out hunting, and he was absolutely starving. He sees his brother's Jacob's soup and basically says: “Give me some of that! I'm starving!” Seems like a pretty normal request from your brother, right? But Jacob says in Genesis 25:31: “First, sell me your birthright.” Wait…WHAT? A bowl of soup for a birthright? You might be wondering: What's a birthright? In their culture, the oldest, first born son normally received a special position in the family and a larger share of the family's inheritance. And remember—this wasn't just any family. This was the family of Abraham and Isaac. God had promised Abraham that He would make his family into a great nation and that through his family, the whole world would be blessed. So Esau's birthright was a BIG DEAL, it meant that he was responsible for protecting the covenant his Grandfather, Abraham made with God and that his name and his kids would be part of how God blessed the world… But Esau was hungry right now. And Genesis tells us that Esau traded his birthright to Jacob for some bread and lentil stew. Esau traded his responsibility to God’s promise and his right to have his family be part of God blessing the world for some soup… Sometimes we do the same thing. Maybe not with soup! But sometimes what we want right now feels more important than what we know is truly valuable. “I really want to say that mean thing right now.” “I really want to cheat because I want a better grade.” “I really want to watch this even though I know I'm not supposed to.” “I really want everyone to like me, so I'll go along with what everyone else is doing.” Sometimes our feelings shout: “I WANT IT NOW If we're honest, we're a lot like Esau. We know what is right, but sometimes we choose what we want instead. The Bible calls that sin. But here's the good news: Jesus came for people like Esau, and people like you and me who don't always make the right choice. And Jesus did something very different from Esau. Esau gave up something valuable because he was thinking about himself. Jesus gave up something valuable because He was thinking about us. Jesus left the glory of heaven, came into our world, and eventually gave His own life on the cross to rescue us from our sin. And then He rose again! Today's episode was filmed in Alaska at Echo Ranch Bible Camp in Juneau, Alaska! Find out more about Echo Ranch at www.echoranch.org

In Genesis chapter 24, Isaac isn't a little boy anymore. He's about 40 years old! And Abraham realizes that it's time for Isaac to (finally) get married. But Abraham didn't want Isaac to marry just anyone. Abraham wanted Isaac to have a wife who followed God and was woman of humble, loving and generous (If you are kid, it might sound weird to tell you this now, but Who you marry really matters…Your spouse will impact your life more than anyone else…So you want to make a wise decision…_ Abraham gives an unnamed worker a VERY important assignment: Travel back to the land where Abraham's relatives lived and find a wife for Isaac. Ummm…no pressure! Can you imagine being given that job? So Abraham's servant packed up TEN camels with supplies and gifts and started the long journey. Eventually, the Abraham’s employee arrived at a well filled with water outside of town. And here's what I love about what happens next. The servant prayed. In Genesis, Chapter 24:12 we read, 12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” The servant basically said, "God, I need Your help!" He asked God to guide him to the right woman. He prayed that when he asked a young woman for some water, she would not only give him a drink but would offer to give water to his camels too! And before he had even finished praying, a young woman named Rebekah walked up to the well! The servant asked her: "Please give me a little water." And Rebekah gave him a drink. But then she said something that probably made the servant's eyes get REALLY big. Read Genesis 24:19-20: 19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Rebekah was actually from Abraham's hometown! God had guided him to the right persom from the right family.

In Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac traveled up a mountain together. As they walked, Isaac noticed something. They had wood for the sacrifice, and they had everything else they needed, but they didn't have the normal sacrifice, which would have been an animal, usually a lamb… So Isaac asked his dad, "Where is the lamb?" And Abraham gave an amazing answer in Genesis 22, verse 8: "God himself will provide the lamb." Abraham trusted that somehow God would keep His promises. And sure enough, at just the right moment, God provided for Abraham and Isaac! In Genesis 22:13, we read, 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” God had provided another sacrifice to take Isaac's place. And Abraham gave that place a special name: In Hebrew, he called it, Jehovah Jireh. In English it means: "The LORD Will Provide." But here's what's really amazing about this story. Hundreds and hundreds of years later, God would provide another sacrifice, another Jehovah Jireh… Only this time, it wouldn't be a ram. It would be Jesus. Isaac didn't have to die because God provided a ram in his place. And the Bible tells us that because of our sin, we deserve to die and be separated from God. But God provided someone to take our place too. Jesus! Jehovah Jireh!

Out in the middle of the wilderness, with no water when Ishmael probably felt completely alone…God heard him! In fact, do you know what the name Ishmael means in Ancient Hebrew? It means: “God hears.” How cool is that? Every time someone said Ishmael’s name, it was a reminder: God hears. And guess what? GOD HEARS YOU TOO! Sometimes you might feel like nobody understands what you’re going through, maybe you're scared about something, maybe someone at school hurt your feelings, maybe you're worried about something happening in your family, maybe you feel lonely. You might wonder: Does God know? Yes. Does God care? Yes. Can God hear me when I pray? Yes! Psalm 34:17 says: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them.”

In Genesis 18:13 we read, "Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?...” This is an incredible scene! 3 mysterious visitors visit Abraham and Sarah… And they remind Abraham and Sarah that God has promised them children. Sarah laughs! Not because the visitors tell a joke… No she laughs because what they tell her and Abraham seems so unbelievable! Have you ever heard something so unbelievable that it made you laugh about it? “Imagine your teacher walked into class tomorrow and said, ‘Okay everyone, I have a big announcement. School is canceled for the rest of the year…AND everyone gets straight A’s!’ Or “What if your parents came into your room one night and announced to you, ‘We’ve decided you never have to clean your room again!’” “I bet you’d laugh because there’s no way you’d believe it!” That is why Sarah laughed…She thought to herself, I know God promised us a child, but I am way too old, I just can’t bel God tells Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18:14… “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” “Think about some of the hardest things you could imagine making. Could you make a mountain? How about an ocean? Could you make the sun? Or a Elephant? Could you make a human brain? Could you make a tiny baby grow inside its mom? Of course not! Those things would be impossible for us. But they aren't too hard for God. The Birth of Isaac in Genesis 21 reminds us of this.

In Genesis 17, God restores Abram and Sara with an “I” despite their sin and gives them new names…To Abram, he becomes Abraham. To Sarai, she becomes Sarah with an “H” at the end of her name rather than an “I”… The names are so similar to their old names, SO what is the big deal? Well, to both Abram and Sarai’s names, God added the Hebrew letter heh (H) to their names, which comes from the sacred name of God (YHWH), signifying that God's presence and power were stamped upon their lives…Their old lives were now gone, God gave them new lives and new identity and re-affirmed his promise to give them children! You see in Hebrew Abraham means “Father of Multitude” and Sarah with an “H” means “mother of nations.” God gave them new names to match his promise to them! Wow, this is so cool! When you and I become Christians, followers of Jesus today, we are also made new! 2nd Corinthians 5:17, tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Abraham and Sara with an H got new names to remind them that God was with them… You and I receive new hearts through faith in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit dwells in our lives, reminding us that God is with us!

Today, we learn about Abram's nephew, Lot and his choice to move next to a wicked city (Sodom) and how that choice impacted his life. Those we live near, next and with influence our lives more than we realize, so be careful who influences you, but also never be afraid to love people who need Jesus. Choose friends who help you follow Jesus. And then, together, move toward people who need to know how much Jesus loves them.

God didn’t bless Abram just so Abram could have a comfortable life and write hashtag blessed on his Instagram posts! “I will bless you... and you will be a blessing.” — Genesis 12:2 God blessed Abram so that Abram’s life could ultimately be a blessing to others. Think about the difference between a swimming pool and a river. A swimming pool stores water and holds onto it and the water doesn’t leave the pool!. (Unless you do one of those big cannonball dives!) But a river receives water and then keeps it moving to other places. God wanted Abram to be like a river. God’s blessings would come to Abram and then flow through Abram to others. Blessed to be a blessing…

Genesis 12:1 says, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’” Did you catch what God told Abram to do? GO. Leave your country. Leave your cousins, your siblings, even your parents… Leave your home. Leave everything that feels familiar and comfortable… …and go to a land that I will show you. But there was one pretty important detail missing. God didn’t tell Abram exactly where he was going! Can you imagine that conversation? “Okay God, I’ll go! Just give me the address and I’ll type it into Google Maps.” Nope! There was no Google Maps. There wasn’t even an address! God simply told Abram to go and trust Him to lead the way. And look what Abram did. Genesis 12:4 says: “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” I love that! God said, “Go.” And Abram went. Abram didn’t know everything that was going to happen. But Abram knew that it was God who was leading him. And Abram trusted God enough to obey Him. That’s called faith.