8:1-3 Instruction about lighting the lamps - which were followed.
8:4 This mention of how the lamp stand was made echoes what Israel were told to do (Exodus 25:31) One wonders why this detail is repeated here.

9:1 We are still in the first month of the second year so we cannot be very long after the tabernacle was reared up. From 9:2 we might conclude that we are still before the 10th of the month when the Passover lamb would be selected.

8:19 So the Levites were a gift from God - though they probably thought that they were giving themselves in service. In like manner God gave Jesus the disciples (John 17:9)

9:14 The provision for the 'stranger' to partake of the Passover is one of the many indications in the law hat gentiles are to be able to benefit from the deliverance from sin and death that God effected for Israel. But, of course, any stranger - gentile - who wanted to avail himself of the deliverance had to accept the constraints of the commandments of God.

8:2 That the lampstand gave light in the tabernacle is so obvious. We might think it was an essential part of the service so that those who ministered in the tabernacle could see what they were doing. However there is a spiritual lesson for ourselves also. The ecclesia is of God's building but unless we give light - form the word - then those who minister with us will have no light to guide them

9:6-12 The provision for those who were unclean at the time of the Passover that they could partake of the Passover exactly one month later shows both the importance of the feast and the mercy of God in providing for those who were unclean through no fault of their won.  Do we view our presence at the breaking of brad as of such importance. Or are there times we are involved in other things which prevent us going - remember forbearing to partake of the Passover Num 9:13 is, it seems, unforgivable.

Someone had died in the camp, and the men responsible for burying him were not allowed
  to keep the Passover with all their fellows.  They were unclean (Num 9:6-14), Moses
  asked God for guidance, and the Voice told him that for those on a journey, or those
  unclean, it was permitted to keep the Passover a month later.  How kind and understanding
  the Lord God was.  He understands, and appreciate our troubles - if they are genuine. But
  as Num 9:13 says, there is no leaway for the lazy or irreligious.

8:24      The priests’ work was to ‘war a warfare’ –see margin. This is the basis for Paul’s comment to Timothy 1Tim 1:18

8:11 Whilst God had chosen the tribe of Levi to be His ministers – Deut 10:8 – however the people also had to be willing for the Levites to minister on their behalf. Hence they are ‘an offering of the children of Israel’.

9:18-23 The repetition of ‘at the commandment of the Lord’ demonstrates that the journey of Israel in the wilderness was at God’s direction. We are in the wilderness, so to speak. Do we see God working in our lives? Or do we see ourselves as the masters of our own destiny?

When we read of the consequences of not keeping the passover in ch9:13, we can imagine that there was panic amongst those that could not keep the feast because of other laws (uncleaness) in v7 .  What a calming influence the words of Moses are to them, and us -  'Stand still (v8).  I imagine I am not alone in needing to stand still and 'hear' what God has to say when confronted with problems.  The occasions where we read the phrase 'Stand still' in scripture are worth looking at  when we feel under pressure in our lives.

8:7 Here we have a recorded use of the water of separation of the Red Heifer of Num 19:9,17. Thus we learn that the way in which details are recorded in the book of Numbers with regard to details of the tabernacle and its service are not necessarily in historical order.

There are a number of phrases from this chapter quoted in Malachi.

The wisdom of God should teach a man to avid foolishness - even the priests in the days of Nehemiah (The context of Malachi's prophecy) were not immune to the lure of 'folly'. Are we any better?

V.5 What one has earned will not go into his own house, if he turns to the strange or foreign women. It will go to the strangers who share the woman's immoral earnings.

5:11 The mourning that the ‘strange woman’ brings equates with the ‘sorrows’ of 1Tim 6:10

5:4 There are two two-edged swords, metaphorically speaking in Scripture. One is the lips of the strange woman. The other is the word of God – Heb 4:12

5:2 The lips of the son will ‘keep knowledge’ if the son is truly the son of the father as he says he is in Prov 4:2.

5:3 In likening the words of a ‘strange woman’ to an ‘honeycomb’ we see that truth and error can both be seen as attractive as God’s words are seen to e sweeter than an honeycomb –Psa 19:10. However it is not easy to recognise that what God is offering is more attractive than error.

5:20-21 It is hard to remember that God knows everything that we do. Here the wise man also indicates that our actions cause God to ‘ponder’ our ways, surely this is how He assesses how to correct us for our well being.

:8 Zaccheus, the superintendant by order of the Romans to extract taxes from the Jews(vs 2), was seeking a change and to make right for previous actions as per the Law(Ex 22:1). He was saved by the spirit of his works, not by the Law itself.

:20 There is a strong irony in this word for napkin, ie. sweat cloth, since this servant avoided the neccessary toil and lost his pound.

19:8  Zacchaeus, in his comment to Jesus, shows that he had taken heed to John the Baptists' command seen in Luke 3:13

19:22  ‘out of thine own mouth …’ echoes the way in which David responded to the man who came to him – 2Sam 1:10 – with news of the death of Saul.

19:5  Zacchaeus’ objective clearly was not to be noticed by Jesus. He did not want a public audience with Jesus. All he wanted was to see him. He was willing to humiliate himself by climbing a tree just to see Jesus. He was not seeking for anything for himself. Whilst the narrative moves on to focus on the discussion Jesus had with him and the subsequent events we should not lose sight of the fact that he just wanted to see Jesus and was willing to suffer ridicule to do that.

19:17 Naaman wanted to do something big for God. 2Kin 5:13 and was disappointed when he had to do something seemingly little. That is human nature. We should not thing that we are immune from that kind of thinking. Doing the little things is the hardest thing in a life of service to God.