The strength of the Jewish kingdom was solely reliant on the power of the king, and unlike other states, like Egypt, that could survive with a not great king, Israel could not.  They never had the change to become en established power like rome and Egypt did.  They were also in a bad spot geographically, as there was not much room around them to expand.  They have evolved into a society that has to hide behind walls to survive.  Even to this day, Israel is persecuted my many different countries of different faiths.