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There's some disagreement, but many Bible scholars believe Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of Egypt during Israel's Exodus. By the time of the Exodus, Amenhotep had successfully completed 3 military campaigns against Syria, and he'd built a reputation for himself as a master mariner, able to captain a ship on the high seas. Amenhotep also proclaimed himself the best archer and horseman in Egypt, and no one wanted to challenge the king about that! Amenhotep reigned supreme, until Moses showed up.
Understandably, Amenhotep didn't want to grant Moses' request that Israel be released to go into the desert and worship. Egypt's economy thrived because of the slave labor provided by the Israelites; what ruler would want to lose that? But Amenhotep seems to take the request personally, considering it a challenge to his authority: "Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2, NIV).
God responded by revealing his power to Pharaoh. Moses' staff became a serpent. The Nile turned into a river of blood. Frogs plagued the land of Egypt. When gnats swarmed the land, even Pharaoh's own advisors admitted, "This is the hand of God" (Exodus 8:19). Pharaoh, however, was belligerent, refusing to let Israel go after 3 more plagues. Pharoah even imagined that he could negotiate with God: "Take only the men" or "take the women and children, too, but leave your flocks." As God prepared to send a plague of hail, He warned Pharaoh: "... by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth." Pharaoh still refused to back down.
You know the story. It wasn't until the 10th plague, when Pharaoh's own son died, that Pharaoh finally acknowledged God's sovereignty and let Israel depart. Even then, however, Pharaoh changed his mind and went after the Israelites, leading his army into the Red Sea, where they were drowned.
Unfortunately, Pharaoh isn't the last person to fight a battle with God that can't be won. Every day there are folks who become angry with God because of a perceived injustice - a handicap, a setback or the death of someone much loved. Tragedies and accidents prompt many to harden their hearts against God and turn away. "I want nothing to do with a God like that," they proclaim.
Those angry individuals make 2 mistakes. First, like Pharaoh, they imagine that they can actually win the battle. Jesus illustrated this absurdity in Luke 14:31 - "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace." Thinking one can win a battle against God is like believing a pair of threes is a good hand against a Royal Flush.
The second mistake is even more fundamental: These folks blame God for something that isn't His fault! God created a perfect world, one without pain, sickness and death. Humans messed that up by rebelling against God in sin. Now, when tragedies occur and hearts break, God is simply letting humanity feel the result of that sin, hoping that the pain will prompt people to turn their hearts back toward Him.
Some folks though, like Pharaoh, just won't admit when they're wrong. They see the devastating results of addiction, but tell themselves they can stop whenever they want. They know their marriage isn't working, but they can't bring themselves to ask for counseling. They indulge in secret sin, convincing themselves that God doesn't notice.
Good luck with that!
I read about a man driving down a country road who came upon a sign that said, "Road closed." The driver went on, thinking, "This road looks fine to me." Five miles further on, however, he came to a bridge that was out and was forced to turn around. When the driver got back to the "Road Closed" sign, he noticed that someone had painted on the back: "Welcome back, Stupid!"
The only reasonable response to God's challenge is unconditional surrender. Resistance is futile, but surrender brings peace. Is it time for you to give in?