14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 “Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 “You shall say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.” 17 `Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. 18“The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”‘” 19 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, `Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both invessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'”
20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORDhad said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.
So God turns all the water in Egypt into blood. Somehow, Pharaoh’s magicians convince him that they can do the same, although likely not on the same scale. He obviously didn’t want to believe God, otherwise he would have commanded his magicians to fix the water. The hardness of his heart allowed him to accept a counterfeit miracle, when God was right in front of him. Often, we are guilty of not seeing God, because we insist in looking in the wrong places, instead of just listening for His voice. Don’t try to box God up, or make Him play by your rules. Seek Him honestly, and you will find Him.