Does God change His mind?

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19
This is an interesting verse. It was uttered by Balaam as part of his second prophecy concerning the nation Israel. Balak, king of Moab, had asked Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam knew he could say nothing other than what God wanted him to say.
God never says anything He doesn’t mean. He doesn’t say things in jest, saying He will do something with no intention to actually carry it out. Of course, we do come across other passages in the Scripture that seem to imply God did change His mind, for example, on two occasions, telling Moses that He would destroy Israel: with the golden calf, Ex. 32:9-14, and with the rebellion that ensued following the bad report brought by the ten spies, Num. 14:11-25; and with the visions He showed Amos, Amos 7:1-9. These can be reconciled, because God did have the intention to carry it out, if the person He was showing it to did not plead with Him for mercy on the nation.
The same also applies for God’s good promises to us. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). He has promised to be with us always (Matt. 28:20). He has promised to bring us to be with Himself (John 14:2-3). We can be absolutely sure that He will keep these promises!