In Deuteronomy chapter 27 God instructs Israel to write the commandments on another stone. He tells them that when they cross over “the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and…You shall write on them all the words of this law…” These stones are to be set up on Mount Ebal where everyone can see them. God didn’t want them to forget that He had brought them into this rich land flowing with milk and honey just as he had promised them. But he also wanted to remind them that He wasn’t finished with them yet. He had a great plan for their future if they would obey Him and keep his commandments. Many more good things await them if they remain faithful.
In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was “Ne Plus Ultra,” which means “No More Beyond.” The word being torn away by the lion is “Ne” or “no,” making it read “Plus Ultra.” Columbus had proven that there was indeed “more beyond.”
When you walk in God’s ways there is always “Plus Ultra.”