According to Alec Motyer, an Old Testament scholar, Isaiah 9 is in the middle of a section from chapters 7–11. The first three chapters (7–9) all focus on the birth of a baby who will deliver God’s people.
During the time of King Ahaz, Israel faced an immediate threat of invasion. But throughout chapters 7–11, these contemporary events were intertwined with a vision of a future everlasting kingdom.
As argued in an earlier article, Chapter 7 promised a sign of a baby — who will be “God with us” (Immanuel) in the distant future. Yet Chapter 8 recorded the birth of another child (Isaiah’s son) — Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz — as a fulfilment of God’s promise to Israel at that time.