Does God ever change his mind?

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? --Numbers 23:19
And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind! --I Samuel 15:29
I am the Lord, and I do not change. --Malachi 3:6
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. --Hebrews 13:8Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from above, from the Father of lights. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. --James 1:17
Well, there's your answer, right? Case closed! Not so fast! The words of Balaam recorded in Numbers are true in the sense that God's character/personality is immutable (it doesn't change). However, the answer to both of the questions he poses is YES! God has spoken and failed to act! He has promised to do things which he hasn't performed!
When the wicked people of Nineveh repented of their sins and changed their ways, God changed his mind about destroying them. Jonah 4:10 When King Hezekiah pleaded with God to heal him after Isaiah had delivered God's message to the king that he would die, God changed his mind and gave Hezekiah another fifteen years. Hezekiah 20:1-6
The interesting thing is that God never changes his mind about good things that he has decreed/promised, only about negative decrees/sentences (and it's a good thing for us that it works that way!) God has declared that the penalty for sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Leviticus 24:16, Deuteronomy 28:45 and Romans 6:23). Nevertheless, if we are willing to reptent and accept Christ as our Savior, then God is willing to change his mind about that death sentence, forgive us and allow us to live!So let's all thank God that he can change his mind!
"But God didn't really change his mind about that penalty - Christ still had to pay that penalty didn't he?" the skeptics will persist. That's very true, but you forget Mr. Skeptic that our Father still had to accept the substitution. If the Almighty wasn't willing to accept the substitution, you and I would still be on our way to the Lake of Fire! Thank God, when circumstances change, the Almighty is willing to change his decree about the outcome.