can mac os 10.7 run on an early 2008 mackbook

It doesn't look as if your computer meets the system requirements:

System requirements for OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 - Apple Support

Your MacBook can run OS X 10.7 Lion if you increaee your RAM to, at least 2 GBs of RAM.

Your year and model MacBook can take up to 6 GBs of RAM.

I would strongly advise for better OS 10.7 Lion performance that you purchase and install, at least, 4 GBs of RAM.

If you live in the U.S., I strongly recommend installing the full 6 GBs of RAM for best OS X 10.7 system performanc.

Correct, compatible and reliable Mac RAM can ONLY be purchased from online RAM sources Crucial memory or OWC (http://www.macsales.com).

OWC is the only U.S. Mac RAM vendor that sell the 6 GB RAM kit for your MacBook model.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/DDR2/

Here's how to install the RAM in your MacBook

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_mem_hd_h/

Before embarking on a major OS upgrade, it would be wise, advisable and very prudent if you have a good,working backup of your current system to an external connected and Mac formatted Flash drive OR externally connected USB, Thunderbolt or FireWire 800, Mac formatted hard drive. Then, use either OS X Time Machine app to backup your entire system to the external drive OR purchase, install and use a data cloning app, like CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, to make an exact and bootable copy (clone) of your entire Mac's internal hard drive. This step is really needed in case something goes wrong with the install of the new OS or you simply do not like the new OS, you have a very easy way/procedure to return your Mac to its former working state.

OS X 10.7 Lion system requirements

Purchased emailed download code here.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6106Z/A/os-x-lion

Apple will send you an email for the special download code for the Mac App Store within three days of purchasing the download code.

To use OS X 10.7 Lion, make sure your computer has the following:

An Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor

Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later to install via the Mac App Store (v10.6.8 recommended)

7 GB of available disk space

2 GB of RAM

Next,

If you run any older Mac software from the earlier PowerPC Macs, then none of this software will work with the newer OS X versions (10.7 and onward). OS X Snow Leopard had a magical and invisible PowerPC emulation application, called Rosetta, that worked seamlessly in the background that still allowed older PowerPC coded software to still operate in a Intel CPU Mac.

The use of Rosetta ended with OS X Snow Leopard as the Rosetta application was licensed to Apple, from a software company called Transitive, which got bought out, I believe, by IBM and Appe could no longer secure their rights to continue to use Rosetta in later versions of OS X.

So, you would need to check to see if you have software on your Mac that maybe older than, say, 2006 or older.

Also, check for app compatibilty here.

http://roaringapps.com/

If you have any commercial antivirus installed and/or hard drive cleaning apps installed on your Mac, like MacKeeper, CleanMyMac, TuneUpMyMac, MacCleanse, etc. now would be a good time to completely uninstall these apps by doing a Google search to learn how to properly uninstall these types of apps.

These types of apps will only cause your Mac issues later after the install of the new OS X version and you will have to completely uninstall these types of apps later.

Once you have determined all of this, you should be able to find the latest versions of OS X by clicking on the Mac App Store icon in the OS X Dock and then login to the Mac App Store using your Apple ID and password and if you purchased a download code, input that code.

You can then begin the download and installation process of installing the newer versions of OS X from the Mac App Store.

Good Luck!