The bible is full of the God-condoned mass murder of men, women, children, babies in the most barbaric fashion, including the dashing of babies against rocks, ripping open the bellies of pregnant women (does that constitute abortion?) savage rape and multiple rape (gangbangs), the wholesale slaughter of animals, slavery, kidnapping, etc... the list goes on endlessly.
Cruelty is a human word. How can you ascribe human emotion/logic to the Creator of all? I guess if you believe, you just have to follow the rules and not interpret or question the motives, since it would be beyond the comprehension of any human to know the "mind" of God.
Figgs had an interesting point a lot earlier in the thread.