In the Old Testament no other book gives us such a complete revelation of God's economy and dispensation as the book of Exodus. There is a full set of outward appearances which depict the Lord's economy or dispensation. There was the Passover (Exo. 12), and there was God's mighty salvation to deliver all the people of Israel out of Egypt. There were the outward miraculous doings of God including the smiting of all the firstborn in Egypt (Exo. 12:29). Then in the wilderness God did a lot of miraculous things. For example, for nearly forty years while the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, the manna came to them.
They were also brought to Mount Sinai to receive the decree of the law. Even the decree of the law was a part of the outward set of appearances. Accompanying the decree of the law was the pattern of the tabernacle and the furniture and all the things concerning the priesthood, including the offerings of the sacrifices. These things made up a full set of outward appearances.
Although Moses was the one through whom all these outward appearances were carried out, I doubt that he realized the divine reality of all these things. The deliverance from the Egyptian tyranny was carried out through him. The miracles wrought by God in the wilderness were through him, and he was the mediator for God to give the law to the people. He was brought by God into a position to see all the heavenly designs of the tabernacle and the furniture and the things concerning the priesthood. He himself was personally infused by God to the extent that there was the divine glow on his face. But still I doubt whether he saw the divine reality and the divine significance of these things. I doubt that Moses was clear about the dispensing of the Triune God into His people to be their life and life supply, and even their nature, so that they could be His living expression. After his experience on the mountain, he surely realized something, but I doubt if he really entered fully into the divine significance of those things. I doubt that he realized the standing boards of the tabernacle, which were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, were a type of Christ in humanity overlaid with divinity and enlarged to be the church for God's dwelling place. If Moses himself did not see the inner reality within this set of outward things, who else would have seen?
Through all their generations after Moses, the children of Israel treasured what was received through Moses. The unity of the Jewish race through the centuries has been mostly due to the things they received through Moses. They have treasured the Ten Commandments, the Pentateuch, the tabernacle, the furniture of the tabernacle, and the priesthood. But history tells us that through all these generations they have not known the spiritual significance of these things. They have not known that the tabernacle and the temple were types of Christ. They have not understood the real significance of the showbread table or even why it was in the tabernacle. They have not known why there was a lampstand or why the lampstand had seven lamps. They have not known why the lampstand came after the showbread table. They have not known the significance of the veil. They have not known the real significance of the ark which contained the law and the hidden manna and the rod that budded. They have not understood these things, but they have treasured them. Even today they would like to find the ark. But they do not realize the spiritual significance of all these outward things. Their appreciation of these outward things does not affect their living, because these things are not kept in life, but in an outward way of appearance. Of course, they realized that the glory of God was there, but even that to them was a kind of outward appearance. When the Lord Jesus who was the reality of all those outward appearances came, they did not know Him. He was all-inclusive. He was the reality of the tabernacle, the ark, the lampstand, the showbread table, etc., but they did not know Him.