In this passage, we see that God chose to make the Israelites take a longer path, solely based on their mindsets. Would it not be reasonable to think that he keeps us in the dark, about other things, so that our faith may be tested?
For Ehrman, his stumbling block is due to him not being able to reconcile all of scripture. Different people may have different stumbling blocks. In Matthew 19:16-30, a man wouldn't follow Jesus because he found his own wealth to be more important. In 1st Kings 11:1-13, we learn that King Solomon turned away from God, due to his love for foreign women. In Matthew 13:1-23, God has made it clear that some people will choose to stop following him for different reasons.
I have entitled this article "Standards for God" because, like Timmy, who demands that he get twelve snickers bars, as a prerequisite for adults to prove that they're not evil, some people take this same attitude towards God. They impose their own standard, and God must meet that standard, in order for him to be acceptable to them.
The Bible deals with this issue. Jesus makes it clear that, in order to follow him, we must do it with humility. We must come to him like children.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
So Jesus called a child to come and stand in front of them, and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.
-Matthew 18:1-5
It's okay to be confused, and to recognize that we don't know everything. Throughout history, the Bible shows us examples of people who didn't quite understand what God was doing, why he was doing it, or how he was doing it. King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, tried to figure out such things, and came to the simple conclusion that it can't be done. Here's what he wrote, in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Whenever I tried to become wise and learn what goes on in the world, I realized that you could stay awake night and day and never be able to understand what God is doing. However hard you try, you will never find out. The wise may claim to know, but they don't.
-Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
Many prophets wrote prophecy about Christ. When they wrote it, they were often confused about how it was all supposed to happen.
It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you. They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come. This was the time to which Christ's Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow. God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand.
-1st Peter 1:10-12
If you read the book of Daniel, you'll quickly find that Daniel was often confused about the prophesies that were revealed to him. Even Christ's apostles didn't understand all of the things that were taking place while Jesus walked with them. In one instance, Jesus mentioned tearing down the temple and building it, again, in three days. It wasn't until after Christ rose from the dead that they came to understand that Jesus was talking about his own death and resurrection. This account is shown in John 2:13-22.
It's a tragedy if Ehrman, or anyone, makes the choice to only follow Jesus if they completely understand everything, and if they only choose to believe if all of their questions are answered. It's a problem because, often times, God doesn't reveal all things to us. So if that's the standard that you have set for God, then you'll probably be one who will choose to reject Christ. This is because God accepts those who are humble, but he has no use for those who are arrogant (James 4:6).
Don't misunderstand. God has not called us to follow him based on nothing. People may claim that there is no evidence for the existence of God, or for the Bible being true. However, they're clearly mistaken. Plenty of evidence exists, as is described in my article at whylogicfails.com. So a person is incorrect if they claim that Jesus called us to follow him without any evidence. However, he does call us to trust him, even when we don't understand everything.
The Bible presents many good examples, when it comes to understanding what type of person God is interested in. Job, Daniel, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Elijah and King David are a few examples which readily come to mind. What all of them have in common, is their sincere reverence and dedication to God. Each of them chose to trust God, and to make God the central part of their lives. None of them were proud or arrogant.
Here's what the Bible says about God's view of the world:
The Lord keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly, and so from now on you will always be at war."
-2nd Chronicles 16:9
Here's what God said about Job:
"Did you notice my servant Job?" the Lord asked. "There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil."
-Job 1:8
Here's what Job said about people who reject God:
The wicked tell God to leave them alone; they don't want to know his will for their lives. They think there is no need to serve God nor any advantage in praying to him. They claim they succeed by their own strength, but their way of thinking I can't accept.
-Job 21:14-16
The Bible is full of such verses as these. They give a clear picture of what type of person God is looking for, and how he relates to those who genuinely seek him and have reverence for him.
A person may choose to set standards for God, and choose whether or not to follow him, based on those standards. Timmy took a similar approach, as was portrayed in the short story at the beginning of this article. He chose to judge the actions of parents, based on his limited understanding as a child. As adults, we easily recognize his flawed way of thinking.
As long as God's thoughts are greater than those of a human's, and as long as he remains as our creator, it will always be a flawed way of thinking if we choose to measure him by our standards.