Why did God rest on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2)?

In Genesis 2:2 we read, "And on the seventh day God finished his work
that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
that he had done." If God is omnipotent—if He has all power—it doesn't
make much sense that He would need to "rest." After we've had a busy
week, we take a nap—but God?

First, we should quote the verse correctly. It doesn't say God
"needed" to rest; it simply says that He did. Also, it is clear from
Scripture that God did not rest because He was tired. Genesis 17:1
calls God the "Almighty God." Psalm 147:5 says, "Great is our Lord,
and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." God is
all-powerful; He never tires and never needs to rest. As Isaiah 40:28
says, "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, neither faints nor is weary." God is the sum of perfection; He
is never diminished in any way, and that includes being diminished in
power.

When God said, "Let there be light," the light appeared. He simply
spoke creation into existence (Genesis 1:1-3). Later, we read that
Jesus Christ "is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact
imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his
power" (Hebrews 1:3). Forget the image of Atlas straining under the
weight of the world on his shoulders. It's not like that. The entire
universe is held together by Jesus' word. The creation and maintenance
of the universe is not difficult for God. A mere word will suffice. As
Psalm 33:9 declares, "For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded,
and it stood firm."

The Hebrew word translated "rested" in Genesis 2:2 includes other
ideas than that of being tired. In fact, one of the main definitions
of the Hebrew word shabat is "to cease or stop." In Genesis 2:2 the
understanding is that God "stopped" His work; He "ceased" creating on
the seventh day. All that He had created was good, and His work was
finished.

The context of Genesis 1–2 strongly affirms the idea of God's "rest"
being a cessation of work, not a reinvigoration after work. The
narrative tells us which things God created in each of the first six
days. His power is displayed through the creation of light, mountains,
seas, the sun, moon and stars, plant and animal life, and, finally,
humanity. There are many parallels between the first three days of
creation and the second three days. However, the seventh day is a
sharp contrast. Instead of more creating, there is shabat. Instead of
God "doing" more, He "ceased" from doing.

God did not merely "rest" on the seventh day; He "stopped creating."
It was a purposeful stop. Everything He desired to create had been
made. He looked at His creation, declared it "very good" (Genesis
1:31), and ceased from His activity. In the Jewish tradition, the
concept of shabat has been carried over as the "Sabbath." The Law of
Moses taught there was to be no work at all on the seventh day
(Saturday). Because God ceased from work that day, the Israelites were
to cease from their work on the Sabbath. Thus, the days of creation
are the basis of our universal observance of a seven-day week.

Simply put, God's "rest" was not due to His being tired but to His
being completely finished with His creative work.