When the ark was first built per God's instructions (Exodus 25:10 fwd), there had already been an instruction regarding the pot of manna. (see Exodus 16:32 fwd). When the tabernacle was set up, Moses placed the testimony (tables of stone) in the ark (Exodus 40:10). Finally, in Numbers 17:10-11, the rod of Aaron was included.
Deuteronomy 10, a message spoken by Moses at the end of the 40 years of wandering, relates back to the story of the first stage of the tabernacle instructions given in detail in Exodus.
By the time of Solomon, the pot of manna is gone (manna was no longer provided to the people) and Aaron's rod is gone (perhaps buried with Aaron-just a guess). I think that the phrase, "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, " implies that the writer was aware that some things were missing.
Hebrews 9:4 describes the tabernacle in its completeness.
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