81 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 2 "Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you mount the lamps , the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand .' " 3 Aaron therefore did so ; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand , just as the Lord had commanded Moses . 4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand , hammered work of gold ; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work ; according to the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses , so he made the lampstand .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 8:1-4
Commentary on Numbers 8:1-4
(Read Numbers 8:1-4)
Aaron himself lighted the lamps, thus representing his Divine Master. The Scripture is a light shining in a dark place, 2 Peter 1:19. A dark place even the church would be without it; as the tabernacle, which had no window, would have been without the lamps. The work of ministers is to light these lamps, by expounding and applying the word of God. Jesus Christ is the only Light of our dark, sinful world; and by his atonement, by his word and the Holy Spirit, he diffuses light around.