Matthew Henry Commentary Numbers 32:1-5

"Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, the land which Jehovah smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and thy servants have cattle. And they said, If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan." — Numbers 32:1-5 (ASV)

Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land recently conquered might be allotted to them. Two things common in the world might have led these tribes to make this choice: the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. There was much that was wrong with the principle they acted on; they consulted their own private convenience more than the public good. Thus, to this day, many seek their own things more than the things of Jesus Christ, and are led by worldly interests and advantages to stop short of the heavenly Canaan.