What College Football has to do with the Scriptures

This week college football saw one of the greatest upsets in the history of this game. The University of Michigan was defeated in a thrilling last quarter upset by Appalatian State University (ASU). Now, to really understand the gavity of this victory you have to first know that Michigan is almost always one of the best teams in the l-A division. ASU belongs to the l-AA division and only gets to play Michigan in order to make Michigan look that much better and to allow them to show off a bit. Well, in the providence of God the weaker team won. This victory has been said to be the work of self-determination, faith, and any number of other humanistic sources. But, wise king Solomon spoke of events like ASU’s upset of Michigan when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 9 verse 11 he wrote:

“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all.”

Now it is certain that the swift and strong did not win this game. ASU may be said to have studied and labored more than usual, but it is certain that they should have lost. This is like so many of the events in the Bible, Young David defeats the great giant Goliath, Gideon and his three hundred defeat an incredible army, and Jesus Christ, the lowly Savior defeats Satan, sin and death. I’m not saying that a college football game has some kind of allegorical value, but I am pointing out that this is very much in line with what the Scriptures say about the outcome of events we often deem as inevitable. We should think about several things when we consider this uspet. First, God is in control, and His will, not men’s speculations or efforts, will prevail (as is the case with every event-even if ASU had lost). Second, we should remember the greatest victory ever, even the death of Christ on our behalf. If there was ever a more certain defeat it was when Jesus went to Calvary. But it was in that defeat that He defeated our enemies. He went through the fire and came out victorious. Third, we should never bet on what we think is a sure victory because we would have all lost money on this one.