What does Hebrews 11:30 mean?

In this part of the book of Hebrews, the writer is explaining how trusting faith in God was demonstrated in the Old Testament. Abraham (Hebrews 11:17–19) and Moses (Hebrews 11:24–28) were held up as particular examples of this kind of faith in action. These men showed that they were willing to rely on God, based on prior knowledge of Him, and to obey even when they could not see every detail of the future. Moses not only rejected a lavish Egyptian lifestyle in order to be with his persecuted people (Exodus 2:1–15), he also defied Pharaoh in order to lead Israel out of slavery (Exodus 5:1).

This passage also echoed a point made earlier, which is that this kind of trusting, godly faith is required in order to please God. Israel crossed the Red Sea, in faith, and was saved. The Egyptian army attempted to cross the Red Sea behind them, but not in faith, and were annihilated (Hebrews 11:29). Rote obedience—cooperation without trust—does not demonstrate legitimate faith. This same incident also speaks to the victory available when we obey God as a result of our trust.

The moment mentioned here is another example of victory, enabled entirely by trusting faith. Jericho was surrounded by impenetrable walls when God commanded Israel to take the city. To do this, God gave what would have seemed like an absurd command: to spend seven days walking in circles around the city (Joshua 6:1–5). And yet, because Israel obeyed, they obtained victory when those walls collapsed and allowed the Hebrews to invade (Joshua 6:20–21).