In The Begining

Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Rest (H7673 שׁבת shâbath shaw-bath')
A primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically): - (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.

This is the 1st reference to the Sabbath and the Rest.

· There are three things to summarize here.
1. God was doing something (i.e. working)
2. His work was completed and finished.
3. He stopped working or rested.

I know this seems obvious, but I’m going somewhere with this…

Besides the significance of this reference occurring so early in the scriptures, looking past the amazing prominence of the fact that God “rested”, God goes a step further to declare this rest as holy (i.e. sanctified) and to be observed forever!

Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

He SANCTIFIED it because that in it he RESTED from ALL his WORK!

God went on to establish the sabbath day in Exo 16:23 and Exo 20:8. Again, keeping this simple, there is only one way to break (or pollute as God calls it) the sabbath and that is to do work. The word sabbath actually means "intermission."

Conclusion:
Once God does (makes, creates or prepares) something, it is totally complete and utterly finished. That is why God ceased from his labors. It does not need any further input from us nor any of our well intentioned yet presumptuous assistance. If God does not see where there is anything to add to his work, how sinful (unholy) is it for us to presume to continue to work when he has ceased. This is the essence of grace and why it requires us to have faith to believe that God (and his work) is sufficient. Grace is resting. (Heb 4). It is something we can access and stand in as shown in Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And this accessing and standing is only possible when faith is employed.