John Calvin Commentary Genesis 19:30

"And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters." — Genesis 19:30 (ASV)

And Lot went up out of Zoar. This account proves what I have previously alluded to, that those things which people contrive for themselves through rash plans drawn from carnal reasoning never prosper, especially when people, deluded by vain hope or impelled by depraved desires, depart from the word of God. For although recklessness commonly seems to be successful at first, and those who are carried away by their lusts exult over the joyful outcome of events, yet the Lord eventually curses whatever is not undertaken with His approval, and the declaration of Isaiah is fulfilled:

Woe to them who begin a work and not by the Spirit of the Lord;
who take counsel, but do not ask at His mouth, (Isaiah 30:1).

Lot, when commanded to take himself to the mountain, chose instead to dwell in Zoar. After this dwelling place was granted to him according to his own wish, he soon repents and is sorry, for he trembles at the thought that destruction is every moment approaching a place so near Sodom, where perhaps the same impiety and wickedness were reigning.

But let the readers recall to memory what I have said: that it was only through the wonderful kindness of God that He did not receive either immediate or very severe punishment. For the Lord, by pardoning him at the time, ultimately caused him to become judge of his own sin.

He was neither expelled from Zoar by force nor by human hand; instead, a blind anxiety of mind drove him and hurried him into a cave, because he had followed the lust of his flesh rather than the command of God.

And so, in chastising the faithful, God mitigates their punishments so as to make them their best medicine. For if He were to deal strictly with their folly, they would fall down in utter confusion. He therefore gives them space for repentance so that they may willingly acknowledge their fault.