Was Haggai’s audience passing through hard times?

It is a more common interpretation that the Lord through Haggai is addressing his people in a time of hardship. But this view ought to be questioned. The Lord is painting a picture of a people not achieving the goals they had hoped to accomplish, in spite of their busyness. Even though they had sown abundantly, they have not reaped in equal measure. Instead, You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. The problem that Haggai is exposing is not so much hardship as nonfulfillment when it comes to food, drink, clothing, and wages. They had seed for sowing, food for eating, wine for drinking, clothes for wearing, and employment, but they were unsatisfied. They had goods, but not the good life. They were not hungry but they were not satisfied. They were dressed but they were uncomfortable.¹ And inflation was high, so it is as though you would think there were holes in the purse. Indeed, it was not that they had no money; it was that the money did not last. It was not as though the crops failed; they simply did not live up to expectations. They were under the futility curse of Deuteronomy 28:38–40, where the Lord announces that disobedience will bring upon his people the frustrations of having their ambitions and hopes dashed (see also Psalm 107:33–34; Micah 6:14). The Lord was visiting them with his discipline for their ignoring his covenant requirements.

So God is basically saying, Where has all this futile fieldwork and concentration on your own lifestyle got you in the end? Are you any more content? You give every moment to working in your fields to increase your standard of living. But you are no better off, because you are not experiencing the fullness of God’s blessing.²