81 Now the Lord said to Moses, 2 "Say to Aaron, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." 3 And Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 And 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 shown 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.