There is so much symbolism in the lives of OT characters that it is easy to get lost on tangents. Basically every generation arrives at a metaphorical fork in the road, with each character taking one of the paths. While each path may seem reasonable on some level, there is only one worthy of being associated with Christ's lineage. So Abram/Abraham had two sons(posterity pathways); one(Ishmael) representing his own efforts with Hagar, the other one(Isaac) an unearned gift from God through Sarah. The gift from God had two sons; one(Esau) believed his birthright had the worldly practical value of a meal, the other one(Jacob) desired the birthright for its spiritual significance. One(Esau) was swindled of his rightful blessing, while the swindler was forced to leave the promised land. Before the swindler could return to the promised land he had to wrestle with God. Jacob chose not to submit to God and thus returned to the promised land blessed, crippled, and with a new name. How would he have crossed over to the promised land had he submitted to God? My guess is blessed, healthy or healed, and still with the new name of Israel. So here we have two types of Israel; defiant and crippled vs submissive and vigorous, today representing Judaism and Christianity respectively.