Often, I've heard my pastor and others, rephrase or paraphrase “fear”, with the idea or concept that we are to respect or "be in awe of" or revere God. There are probably others, but I found one Bible version that uses that language,
"Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord.
But foolish people hate wisdom and discipline." International Children's Bible
I am not a Hebrew scholar, or even the least bit fluent in Biblical Hebrew, but I know of several Hebrew scholars (and many Bible translations) who say that the Hebrew text of Proverbs 1:7 and elsewhere, literally, actually says "fear God". Fear as in, “to be afraid of, terrified of”. There is something about our modern sensibility that recoils against that understanding (as well, I've heard protests against that terminology while street preaching).
God is love, and we love God; we aren't supposed to fear someone we love.
Think about the story in the book of Exodus, where Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all the male children as they are being delivered. The midwives disobeyed Pharaoh. Why? The Bible says, "the midwives feared God".
Who else are we told to fear in the Bible? Our parents. Leviticus 19:3. Why? Think of it like this; when you were young, and you didn't do something that was wrong; (say you didn't take drugs). Very often it was because you "feared" your parents. The saying goes something like, "my mom would kill me" or "my dad would kill me if I did that".
God is greater than our parents, and even our parents only had our best interests in mind when they set standards for us to follow.
God is infinite. That statement rolls off our tongue. We glibly make that statement without really thinking about the implications of what that means. That statement is too grand for our puny minds to comprehend (speak for yourself Keith, you say). The implication here is that our very existence depends directly upon God. Our next heart beat relies on Him. The entire universe leapt into existence when He spoke the Word. When God releases His hold on the universe, the whole thing will go up in flames (2 Peter 3:7-14).
Since God is unfathomably great and powerful, and since He alone is good; we ought to fear Him in the truest sense of the word. We must come to Him in fear and humility, knowing our eternal salvation depends on His mercy and grace.
Addendum 11/20/2022
I guess i’d put it this way; reverence and awe and respect are a product of fear and knowing God alone is good.
March 14, 2023
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
