Joshua 13:15-33
The sons of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance before all their brothers. We remember that they chose their inheritance themselves without waiting for God to give it to them. What a valuable lesson for each of us! How many times, like them, have we proved incapable of waiting. We have allowed ourselves to be guided by circumstances (the region of Bashan and Gilead was suited to sheep-farming and these tribes had flocks). We have chosen the simplest solution, or because of our own discretion, the first to present itself when with a little patience, we would have secured a better inheritance: the one which God had prepared for us.
These tribes teach us another lesson: by choosing first what seemed best to them (like Lot with Abraham — Genesis 13), the Reubenites and the Gadites show selfishness toward their brethren: me first! They did indeed serve themselves first and they received their inheritance before everyone else. Yet theirs is far from being the best as they imagined it to be. The first shall be last. So we see that the best is always what God gives us, even if we have to wait a little time for it.