>>Why would the punishment be in the book if it wasn't ever supposed to be >>enforced?>>
For emphasis, to show divine displeasure with the prohibited deed. If the law was intended to be enforced, Baha'u'llah would not have provided an alternative -- life imprisonment without parole. This is a very unusual provision in His laws, where He reveals a law, then provides an alternative. There are other examples of the Deity saying things indirectly to impact on human behavior. There is a chapter of SAQ devoted to God's rebukes of the Prophets of God, which are for the edification of the people, as the Prophets are perfect. The example of Moses being punished for striking the rock in the desert is discussed by Him. I think likewise, the impact of the presence of the death penalties in the Most Holy Book will have a deterrent effect on people's conduct. There is also the precedent of the severe laws revealed by the Bab, which were not revealed to be enforced, but for another purpose: "The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Bab can be properly appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Babí Dispensation was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social revolution, and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. These drastic measures enforced by the Bab and His followers were taken with the view of undermining the very foundations of Shi'ah orthodoxy, and thus paving the way for the coming of Baha'u'llah. To assert the independence of the new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh the Báb had therefore to reveal very severe laws, even though most of them, were never enforced. But the mere fact that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led them to cause His eventual martyrdom." (Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, p. 77) Cruelty must be understood in the context of the times. During the time of Moses, He revealed the punishment for violation of the Sabbath, and several other laws, to be death by stoning. In these days when society was almost utterly without social order, and the very basic practices needed to be brought into being and universally established, a severe punishment was provided. So, nowadays the "day of rest" is an established practice in society, even in completely secular societies. And it was brought into being by this law and punishment of Moses, though generally He does not get the credit. Similarly, adultery between a married man and a married woman was punishable by death by stoning. God desired to emphasize how importance the purity of the marital relationship was. In the Aqdas, however, it is punishable by a fine that doubles with each offense, but more especially by social opprobrium and exposure. Nowadays, the severe laws of Baha'u'llah are few; and as I showed above, may in fact never be enforced by the House of Justice; or perhaps reserved for the most extreme of cases. As the House said in a letter on this subject of the punishment for arson (and not all arson -- only burning a "house"), there is a difference in gravity between a person who burns down an empty warehouse, and a person who burns down a schoolhouse full of children. But the mere presence of the law in the Book will have an effect. Another severe law in the Writings of Baha'u'llah is the destruction of a government that invades another county, after all the prerequisites are in place: Frontiers fixed; armaments reduced; a firm covenant; the principles of international law established and agreed upon; fairness in enforcement of international law; the presence of properly constituted and universally recognized international bodies such as the international police force, tribunal, and executive. And in that circumstance, if a country invades another county, here is the remedy: "The fundamental principle underlying this solemn Pact should be so fixed that if any government later violate any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth should arise to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the sick body of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and will remain eternally safe and secure." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 65) That's for the Lesser Peace. When the Most Great Peace comes, that won't be necessary; and when future Prophets come, probably war will have been drummed out of human nature for good; then the law can be removed from the Text by a succeeding Prophet. And a different aspect of human behavior may instead have a severe law bearing on it. 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