Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
1 Samuel 14:29 poses a problem in the light of other passages that say God changed His mind (e.g., Exodus 32:14; Numbers 14:12; Numbers 14:20; 1 Chronicles 25:15). What did Samuel mean? I believe he meant that God is not fickle. [Note: See Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward Old Testament Ethics, p. 250.] God does sometimes relent (change His mind) in response to the prayers of His people or when they repent (cf. Jeremiah 18:7-10; 1 John 1:9). [Note: For a fuller discussion of this subject, see Thomas L. Constable, "What Prayer Will and Will Not Change," in Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost, pp. 105-6; Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Does God ’Change His Mind’?" Bibliotheca Sacra 152:608 (October-December 1995):387-99; and idem, "Does God Deceive?" Bibliotheca Sacra 155:617 (January-March 1998):11-28.] However, when He determines to do something, He follows through (cf. Jeremiah 14:11-12). God is initially open to changing His mind about how He will deal with people, but He does not remain open forever. He is patient with people, but His patience has its limit (2 Peter 3:9-10). God allows people time to make their choices, but then He holds them responsible for those choices. The language "changed His mind" or "does not change His mind," when applied to God, is anthropomorphic (describing God in human terms). Obviously God does not have a mind or brain as humans do, since He is a spirit being. Anthropomorphic (human form) and anthropopathic (human feeling) expressions indicate that God is like human beings in these comparisons.