48 On the seventh day Elishama, the son of Ammihud, the leader of the men of Ephraim:
49 his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering;
50 one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense;
51 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
52 one male goat for a sin offering;
53 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama, the son of Ammihud.
Elishama means understanding of God. The sacrifices made by him symbolize the transmutation of all former views that do not support the goal of direct experience of union with God. The plate of flour here symbolizes the current beliefs about the individual, God, and the Universe. The flour mixed with oil symbolizes the old subconscious tendencies that are not in accord with the Divine. The cereal offering represents balancing of the Masculine and Feminine ways of knowing (Intellect and Intuition). The dish full of incense symbolizes the Soul reaching for the Divine. The bull and ram symbolize, respectively, the initial belief and the ideas in the mind that follow that way of thinking. Sacrificing them in a burnt offering symbolizes completely changing one’s way of thinking. The peace offerings symbolize those things that must be sacrificed in order to attain peace of mind. The two oxen symbolize the way of thinking that supports Materialism. The rams symbolize the consciousness that was raised up by materialistic beliefs. The Five male goats symbolize the stubbornness and refusal to change. The male lambs symbolize the beginning ideas of spiritual separation. Transmuting these things is what is required in order to strengthen the Will.