Numbers 34:13

"And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which Jehovah hath commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe: for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers' houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance: the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising."

"They have received their inheritance ..." What ominous words are these! Alas, it is true that many a man today who has renounced his inheritance as a Christian has turned his back upon the holy teachings of the Lord to devote all of his energies to secular and temporal pursuits ... it is true that he likewise has "received his inheritance"! But it is on the wrong side of Jordan! In the last analysis, it is what he preferred and not what God called him to win. The ultimate issue of life must inevitably end in shame and defeat for all who prefer their own ways to the ways of the Lord. This paragraph seems to carry a tone of sorrow as Moses uttered it. The decision of the two and one-half tribes was here made final and irrevocable. Their fate forever afterward would lie "beyond the Jordan"! Jesus used words similar to these when he said concerning sinful people, "They have received their reward," applying the words to several classes of people in Matthew 6:2,3,16, etc.