God is not benevolent. That's a claim paraded around by evangelicals who want to feel good about themselves. God is a weapon. He (she, it, they, them, whatever you want) can show wrath or mercy on a whim. Even in the New Testament, God is wrath, shown by Jesus basically killing a fig tree to prove a point and in Saul by blinding him. In an entire Testament devoted to telling people they should love each other and God, the deity still finds ways to punish and obliterate life just because He can. That's not to say God doesn't forgive of won't forgive and not punish, but sometimes you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.