Why did God take the kingship away from Israel and let the Gentiles take over when Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Israel?

Throughout the history of ancient Israel, the people and their leaders, and the kings of Israel, would break the most important of all of God�s commandments which is found in Exodus. 20:3, �Thou shalt have no other God�s before me.� It is recorded in 2 Kings 24:11, 19 that Zedekiah was no exception to so many of the kings of Israel because he �did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.�

Many hundreds of years before Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Israel, God instructed Moses to talk to the people and offer them a covenant with him.  If they would obey his commandments, he would make them his chosen people and they would prosper in the land of Canaan and he would protect them from their enemies.  In Exodus 19:8 we read, �And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.�

In Leviticus 26 verses 18 to 28 God warns the Israelites if they break his commandments he will punish them seven times. In Bible prophecy, �time� is a symbolic year, and each year is composed of 360 days; each day actually symbolizes a year; therefore seven years would be 2520 literal years. 

Israel had not kept God�s commandments, broke their covenant and received their just punishment. No longer would Israel be ruled by their own people, but for �seven times� i.e. 2520 years they would be subject to gentile nations. This prophecy is also shown in King Nebuchadnezzar�s dream of the image in the second chapter of Daniel where it is explained that four empires shall rule over Israel and the world starting with Babylon.

In Luke 21:24 we read �And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.� This �times of the Gentiles� is the same as the �seven times� of Lev. 26:18, a period of 2520 years.  We can see the fulfillment of this scripture in world history.  The Jews were �trodden down� by other nations starting with their Babylonian captivity during the times of Daniel. After the fall of Jerusalem they were �led away into all nations.� They were scattered all over the world and never allowed to return to their homeland until modern times.