He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. images: Heb. statues Nehushtan: that is, A piece of brass - 2 Kings 18:4
Can you imagine the shock and horror experienced by those superstitious and religious people when the king destroyed this sacred relic—the serpent which Moses had made? I’m sure that we would get the same reaction from most religious people today if we took a bulldozer and leveled Mt. Calvary outside of old Jerusalem, if we dynamited the tomb which they claim is Jesus’ tomb, or if we damned up the river Jordan and made a lake for fisherman, or if we destroyed all of the pictures of Jesus, all of the crosses, and turned Bethlehem into a shopping mall.
Yet, this is what men would do if they really knew and believed that God is Spirit and is worshipped in Spirit and in truth; that God dwells not in temples nor tombs; that God is not worshipped with men’s hands, holy places, nor religious visual aids. To know Christ, to trust Christ, to rest in Christ alone, and to worship God in the heart is to be separated from all fleshly, material, and earthly idols, no matter what purpose they may have served in God’s plan to send, reveal, and make known the Redeemer—Christ Jesus.
I include also such objects of awe and reverence as the ark of the covenant, the priesthood, the blessed virgin, the apostles, and even the original scriptures, if they could be found. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only!
About Henry Mahan
Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.
At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.
In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.
Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.
Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.
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